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

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in 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 trading volume of 396,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 7.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,560,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,881,000 after buying an additional 177,900 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Churchill Downs in the second quarter worth approximately $125,418,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 847,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,921,000 after buying an additional 44,773 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 4.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 846,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,723,000 after buying an additional 35,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,551,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $166.00) on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $157.00 to $151.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.88.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Churchill Downs stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $144.14. 361,467 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,524. Churchill Downs has a one year low of $107.82 and a one year high of $146.64. The stock has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.29.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $628.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.90 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 47.53%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.409 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.29%. This is an increase from Churchill Downs’s previous annual dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio 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.