Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) Short Interest Down 28.5% in May

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) saw a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 936,700 shares, a decline of 28.5% from the May 15th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 141,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Chuy’s Trading Down 4.2 %

CHUY stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 255,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,209. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.60. Chuy’s has a fifty-two week low of $25.43 and a fifty-two week high of $42.89. The stock has a market cap of $447.98 million, a PE ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.74.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $110.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.67 million. Chuy’s had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 6.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Chuy’s will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chuy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Chuy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 607.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Chuy’s by 70.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chuy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 106.8% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 5,193 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Chuy’s from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Chuy’s from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.14.

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.