Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 85,438 Shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 338.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,690 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85,438 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $14,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CHDN. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Churchill Downs by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Churchill Downs by 127.2% in the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.6% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHDN has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $162.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Churchill Downs from $160.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their target price on Churchill Downs from $172.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHDN opened at $95.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $103.50 and its 200 day moving average is $121.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.57. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $85.58 and a fifty-two week high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Dividend Announcement

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

Churchill Downs declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Churchill Downs 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; casino gaming; and Terre Haute Casino Resort.