Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Update

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a decrease of 6.4% from the May 15th total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 491,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Churchill Downs from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Churchill Downs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Churchill Downs from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Churchill Downs from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of Churchill Downs stock opened at $136.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.43 and a 200 day moving average of $125.81. Churchill Downs has a 12 month low of $106.45 and a 12 month high of $140.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.88.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $590.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.41 million. Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 44.99% and a net margin of 13.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Churchill Downs

In related news, Director Paul C. Varga purchased 3,800 shares of Churchill Downs stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $130.22 per share, for a total transaction of $494,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,763,618.44. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Churchill Downs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,669,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,814,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,513,000 after purchasing an additional 35,337 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,547,000 after purchasing an additional 246,769 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 11,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 90.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 22,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 10,868 shares during the last quarter. 82.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Churchill Downs Company Profile

Churchill Downs Incorporated operates as a racing, online wagering, and gaming entertainment company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Live and Historical Racing, TwinSpires, and Gaming. The company operates pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues; TwinSpires, an online wagering platform for horse racing, sports, and iGaming; retail sports books; and casino gaming.