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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chuy’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Chuy’s by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,206,181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,264,000 after purchasing an additional 258,121 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Chuy’s by 29.9% during 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 52.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 256,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,645,000 after purchasing an additional 88,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 117.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 150,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 81,144 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chuy’s by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 382,479 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,914,000 after buying an additional 65,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHUY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set 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 initiated coverage on shares of Chuy’s in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Chuy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Benchmark lowered 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. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 price objective on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Chuy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

Chuy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Chuy’s stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $37.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,606. Chuy’s has a 1 year low of $22.52 and a 1 year high of $39.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.27 and a 200-day moving average of $32.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $645.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 1.77.

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

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.