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

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

Chuy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ CHUY traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 255,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,209. The company has a market cap of $447.98 million, a P/E ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.60. Chuy’s has a 12 month low of $25.43 and a 12 month high of $42.89.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chuy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Chuy’s by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 262,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after acquiring an additional 37,920 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Chuy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in shares of Chuy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $872,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chuy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Chuy’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 897,008 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,293,000 after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.