561,385 Shares in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 561,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,967,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 25.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after buying an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 5.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 61,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 298.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 8,690 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $937,000. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CHDN opened at $111.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.67. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a one year low of $105.18 and a one year high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.06). The business 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 forecast that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Churchill Downs Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.04%.

Churchill Downs Company 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.