Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,402 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $4,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.6% in the fourth 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. State Street Corp grew its position in Churchill Downs by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,078,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,971,000 after acquiring an additional 114,018 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,299,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,742,000 after purchasing an additional 96,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,000,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,594,000 after purchasing an additional 53,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHDN has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Churchill Downs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

CHDN stock opened at $110.72 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.18 and a fifty-two week high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.21 million. Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 43.67% and a net margin of 15.61%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.04%.

Churchill Downs announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.