Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Stake Raised by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,402 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,606 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.14% of Churchill Downs worth $13,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Churchill Downs by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,808,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $909,183,000 after buying an additional 107,737 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,592,087 shares of the company's stock worth $479,687,000 after buying an additional 214,694 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,794,630 shares of the company's stock worth $239,619,000 after purchasing an additional 366,283 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,499,874 shares of the company's stock worth $201,223,000 after purchasing an additional 77,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,344,595 shares of the company's stock worth $179,557,000 after purchasing an additional 59,657 shares in the last quarter. 82.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

CHDN stock traded up $0.72 on Thursday, reaching $95.01. The company had a trading volume of 772,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,779. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a 1 year low of $85.58 and a 1 year high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company's fifty day moving average is $99.66 and its 200 day moving average is $117.81. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $642.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.68 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Churchill Downs's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.12%.

Insider Activity at Churchill Downs

In other news, Director R Alex Rankin acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $185,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 99,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,173,461.80. This represents a 2.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Douglas C. Grissom acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.77 per share, with a total value of $927,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,869 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,877.13. The trade was a 34.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CHDN. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Churchill Downs from $150.00 to $136.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Macquarie cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $172.00 to $154.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Churchill Downs from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.30.

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.