StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

CHDN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Churchill Downs from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. JMP Securities began coverage on Churchill Downs in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Churchill Downs from $268.00 to $260.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $273.67.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Churchill Downs stock opened at $246.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.12. Churchill Downs has a 52-week low of $172.75 and a 52-week high of $253.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $241.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.27, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.20). Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 60.32% and a net margin of 24.28%. The business had revenue of $480.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Churchill Downs’s quarterly revenue was up 31.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Churchill Downs

In related news, COO William E. Mudd sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.46, for a total value of $4,929,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 306,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,417,499.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,380,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,830,000 after purchasing an additional 73,505 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 912,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 570,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,568,000 after purchasing an additional 174,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 482,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,925,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 93.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 360,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,461,000 after purchasing an additional 174,468 shares during the last quarter. 72.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Churchill Downs

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Churchill Downs, Inc operates as a provider of pari-mutuel horse racing, online account wagering on horse racing and casino gaming. It operates through the following business segments: Racing, Casino, Online Wagering, Corporate, and Other Investments. The Racing segment includes Churchill Downs Racetrack, Arlington Park Racecourse, Calder Race Course, and Fair Grounds Race Course.