Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 13.2% from the September 30th total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 396,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CHDN shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $157.00 to $151.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Churchill Downs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 35,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,839,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 127.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 45,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,112,000 after buying an additional 25,345 shares in the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 19,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 58,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,973,000 after buying an additional 3,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 23,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

CHDN traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $144.14. 361,467 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,524. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.29. Churchill Downs has a 1 year low of $107.82 and a 1 year high of $146.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.65.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 47.53%. The company had revenue of $628.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $627.90 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Churchill Downs’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.409 dividend. This is a boost from Churchill Downs’s previous annual dividend of $0.38. This represents a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.29%.

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.