Short Interest in Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) Drops By 16.0%

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 462,200 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the September 15th total of 550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 463,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Chuy’s Trading Up 0.0 %

CHUY stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $37.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,224,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,606. The stock has a market cap of $645.78 million, a PE ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 1.77. Chuy’s has a fifty-two week low of $22.52 and a fifty-two week high of $39.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.96.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHUY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark lowered Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.50 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 price target on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

Institutional Trading of Chuy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Chuy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Chuy’s by 607.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Chuy’s by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Chuy’s by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.