Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,726,402 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,065 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Churchill Downs worth $907,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Churchill Downs in the fourth quarter worth $94,137,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 810,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,347,000 after purchasing an additional 401,319 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 113.8% in the fourth 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. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Churchill Downs by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 803,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,359,000 after purchasing an additional 179,814 shares during the period. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,669,000. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHDN opened at $138.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.88, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.33 and a 200 day moving average of $126.10. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.99. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a one year low of $106.45 and a one year high of $140.45.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Churchill Downs from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Churchill Downs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $137.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul C. Varga bought 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Churchill Downs

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.