Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Position in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 13.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,489 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 5,372 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 605,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,839,000 after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter valued at $1,927,000. Landmark Investment Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs in the fourth quarter worth about $13,317,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Churchill Downs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Churchill Downs

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CHDN shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $172.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Churchill Downs from $150.00 to $136.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Churchill Downs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.30.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

NASDAQ CHDN opened at $98.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94. 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 50-day moving average of $97.29 and a 200 day moving average of $115.64. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a one year low of $85.58 and a one year high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $642.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.68 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Churchill Downs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Churchill Downs Dividend Announcement

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

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.