Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 1,490,000 shares. Approximately 8.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 138,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Chuy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHUY. US Bancorp DE bought a new position in shares of Chuy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Chuy’s by 171.3% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,210 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in shares of Chuy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in shares of Chuy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chuy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Chuy’s Stock Down 1.8 %

CHUY stock opened at $30.98 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.46. The stock has a market cap of $536.88 million, a P/E ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 1.63. Chuy’s has a twelve month low of $30.80 and a twelve month high of $43.17.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Chuy’s had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $116.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chuy’s will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CHUY. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reduced their target price on Chuy’s from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Chuy’s from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chuy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.71.

About Chuy’s

Chuy's Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Chuy's name in the United States. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.