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

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 949,200 shares, a decrease of 6.9% from the June 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 257,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Chuy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHUY traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.09. The company had a trading volume of 429,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,806. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.75. The company has a market cap of $639.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.76. Chuy’s has a 12-month low of $22.52 and a 12-month high of $42.89.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chuy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHUY. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 19.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 341,602 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,854,000 after buying an additional 55,465 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 85.0% in the second 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 period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Chuy’s in the second quarter valued at $133,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chuy’s by 10.7% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 948,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,978,000 after buying an additional 91,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Chuy’s during the first quarter worth approximately $482,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $37.50 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chuy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.71.

Chuy’s Company Profile

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.