StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) in a report released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CHUY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Benchmark downgraded Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.50 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.50 price objective on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

Chuy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ CHUY opened at $37.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.31 and its 200 day moving average is $32.15. Chuy’s has a 12 month low of $22.52 and a 12 month high of $39.40. The stock has a market cap of $645.78 million, a PE ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 1.77.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. Chuy’s had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 5.84%. The company had revenue of $119.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.46 million. On average, analysts forecast that Chuy’s will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chuy’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHUY. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Chuy’s by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Chuy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Chuy’s by 70.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in Chuy’s by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.