Churchill Downs Incorporated Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.06 (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.06 per share on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%.

Churchill Downs has raised its dividend by an average of 7.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Churchill Downs has a payout ratio of 5.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Churchill Downs to earn $7.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.41 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.2%.

Churchill Downs Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHDN opened at $110.39 on Wednesday. Churchill Downs has a 12-month low of $105.18 and a 12-month high of $150.21. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.14 and a 200 day moving average of $131.68.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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

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.