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

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

Chuy’s Stock Performance

Chuy’s stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $37.34. The company had a trading volume of 608,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,147. The firm has a market cap of $643.37 million, a P/E ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 1.77. Chuy’s has a 1 year low of $22.52 and a 1 year high of $39.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.52.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.01. Chuy’s had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.46 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chuy’s will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chuy’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 317,179 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 37,076 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 948,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,978,000 after purchasing an additional 91,612 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 262,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,028,000 after purchasing an additional 37,920 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 946,167 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,914,000 after purchasing an additional 217,838 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Chuy’s by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 341,602 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,854,000 after acquiring an additional 55,465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark downgraded shares of Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.50 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 price target on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Chuy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.25.

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.