Short Interest in Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) Grows By 6.6%

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 481,200 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the August 15th total of 451,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 420,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 price objective on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.50 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark lowered shares of Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $38.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Chuy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

Institutional Trading of Chuy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHUY. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chuy’s by 85.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Chuy’s during the second quarter worth $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chuy’s by 607.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Chuy’s by 70.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Chuy’s by 257.8% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Chuy’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CHUY traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 608,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,147. The firm has a market capitalization of $643.37 million, a PE ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 1.77. Chuy’s has a twelve month low of $22.52 and a twelve month high of $39.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.62 and a 200 day moving average of $31.52.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $119.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.46 million. Chuy’s had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 13.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chuy’s will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.