Susquehanna Cuts Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Price Target to $136.00

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) had its target price trimmed by Susquehanna from $150.00 to $136.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a positive rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Churchill Downs from $148.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.20.

Churchill Downs Stock Down 16.2 %

Shares of CHDN opened at $87.99 on Tuesday. Churchill Downs has a 12-month low of $87.38 and a 12-month high of $150.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.03 and its 200 day moving average is $125.42.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $642.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.68 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. Research analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio is 7.04%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHDN. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Churchill Downs by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Churchill Downs by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.