Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Shares Bought by Man Group plc

Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 233.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,790 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,659 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $5,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 127.2% in the 4th 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. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Churchill Downs by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter worth $134,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Churchill Downs by 119,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ CHDN opened at $97.31 on Wednesday. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a 12 month low of $85.58 and a 12 month high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $101.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.68.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 43.67% and a net margin of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $642.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Dividend Announcement

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CHDN. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $160.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $172.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $162.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Churchill Downs

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

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.