StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) in a report released on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CHUY has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.50 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 note on Thursday, July 11th. Benchmark cut Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.50 target price 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.25.

Chuy’s Stock Performance

Shares of CHUY opened at $37.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $645.78 million, a P/E ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.29. Chuy’s has a 1 year low of $22.52 and a 1 year high of $39.40.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $119.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.46 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Chuy’s will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chuy’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHUY. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chuy’s by 85.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Chuy’s during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chuy’s by 607.2% in the first 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 last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chuy’s by 70.2% during the first 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 lifted its stake in shares of Chuy’s by 257.8% during the second 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.