Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Shares Purchased by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,108 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Churchill Downs by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.8% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Churchill Downs by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 82.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

CHDN stock opened at $107.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.51. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.18 and a 12 month high of $150.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.21 million. Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 43.67% and a net margin of 15.61%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Churchill Downs presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.