Aristides Capital LLC Purchases 769 Shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Aristides Capital LLC grew its position in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 49.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,330 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Churchill Downs by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 32,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 295,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,436,000 after buying an additional 15,821 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 126.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Churchill Downs by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 114,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Churchill Downs in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CHDN. StockNews.com raised Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Churchill Downs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

Churchill Downs stock opened at $102.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a 12-month low of $101.62 and a 12-month high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 43.67% and a net margin of 15.61%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.21 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio is 7.04%.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.