Short Interest in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Decreases By 14.6%

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decline of 14.6% from the November 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 450,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of CHDN stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $134.80. 505,269 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 430,108. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.57. The firm has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.95. Churchill Downs has a 1-year low of $111.10 and a 1-year high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 45.48%. The business had revenue of $628.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.409 dividend. This is a positive change from Churchill Downs’s previous annual dividend of $0.38. This represents a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio is currently 7.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHDN. CWM LLC lifted its position in Churchill Downs by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Churchill Downs during the second quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Churchill Downs by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32,225 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHDN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $166.00) on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.88.

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.