Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $111.23, but opened at $127.79. Shake Shack shares last traded at $123.87, with a volume of 1,157,170 shares traded.

The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. Shake Shack had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 0.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHAK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Shake Shack from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Shake Shack in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Shake Shack from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Shake Shack from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Shake Shack from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.29.

Insider Transactions at Shake Shack

In related news, CFO Katherine Irene Fogertey sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.51, for a total transaction of $88,281.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,223,894.67. This represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Shake Shack

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Shake Shack during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Shake Shack during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Shake Shack during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shake Shack in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Shake Shack in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 86.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shake Shack Trading Up 11.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 728.96 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.24 and its 200 day moving average is $116.17.

About Shake Shack

Shake Shack Inc owns, operates, and licenses Shake Shack restaurants (Shacks) in the United States and internationally. Its Shacks offers hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, crinkle cut fries, shakes, frozen custard, beer, wine, and other products. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in New York, New York.