Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $153.00 to $160.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Churchill Downs traded as high as $141.98 and last traded at $141.63, with a volume of 146589 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $139.60.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CHDN. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Churchill Downs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Churchill Downs

In other Churchill Downs news, Director Paul C. Varga acquired 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $130.22 per share, with a total value of $494,836.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 28,902 shares in the company, valued at $3,763,618.44. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHDN. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,814,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,513,000 after buying an additional 35,337 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,726,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,593,000 after buying an additional 37,065 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 7.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,560,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,881,000 after buying an additional 177,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 847,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,921,000 after buying an additional 44,773 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 4.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 846,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,723,000 after buying an additional 35,587 shares during the period. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.88.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.35. Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 44.99% and a net margin of 13.72%. The firm had revenue of $590.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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; and casino gaming.