Share Buyback Plan Approved by Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

Churchill Downs stock opened at $110.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Churchill Downs has a 1-year low of $105.18 and a 1-year high of $150.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.42 and its 200 day moving average is $132.34.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts forecast that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHDN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of 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 shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.38.

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.