Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Update

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a drop of 6.0% from the March 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 367,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 11,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,464 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,726,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,593,000 after purchasing an additional 37,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 151,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,425,000 after purchasing an additional 9,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHDN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Churchill Downs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $141.00 in a report on Monday. Mizuho initiated coverage on Churchill Downs in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.13.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Churchill Downs stock opened at $121.08 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $119.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.29. Churchill Downs has a one year low of $106.45 and a one year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.34, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 1.03.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.18. Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 45.43% and a net margin of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $561.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $553.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Company Profile

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.