Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,600 shares, an increase of 50.9% from the January 31st total of 16,300 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nathan’s Famous by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 139,528 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,968,000 after buying an additional 18,851 shares during the last quarter. Crawford Fund Management LLC raised its position in Nathan’s Famous by 11.9% during the third quarter. Crawford Fund Management LLC now owns 97,660 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,901,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nathan’s Famous by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 63,252 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Nathan’s Famous by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 27,011 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Nathan’s Famous by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Nathan’s Famous from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Nathan’s Famous Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NATH stock traded down $2.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,961. The company has a market cap of $403.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.25. Nathan’s Famous has a one year low of $64.02 and a one year high of $104.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.59.

Nathan’s Famous (NASDAQ:NATH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter. Nathan’s Famous had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 96.05%.

Nathan’s Famous Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Nathan’s Famous’s dividend payout ratio is 34.48%.

Nathan’s Famous Company Profile

Nathan’s Famous, Inc engages in the operation of franchised fast-food units. It is involved in the licensing, wholesaling, and retailing of products marketed under the Nathan’s Famous brand. The firm operates through the following business segments: Branded Product Program, Product Licensing, Restaurant Operations, and Corporate.