Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Up 23.0% in February

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the February 13th total of 1,350,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 536,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHDN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Churchill Downs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,967,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 763,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,241,000 after purchasing an additional 381,754 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,794,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,619,000 after buying an additional 366,283 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,592,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,687,000 after acquiring an additional 214,694 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Churchill Downs by 97.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 431,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,578,000 after purchasing an additional 213,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHDN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHDN opened at $112.97 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.55. Churchill Downs has a 1-year low of $105.18 and a 1-year high of $150.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.21 million. Equities analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.04%.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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; casino gaming; and Terre Haute Casino Resort.