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

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

CHUY has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Chuy’s from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Chuy’s from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $37.50 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and issued a $37.50 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Chuy’s in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $33.83.

Chuy’s Price Performance

Shares of CHUY stock remained flat at $37.05 during trading hours on Wednesday. 250,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,045. The firm has a market capitalization of $638.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.00. Chuy’s has a twelve month low of $22.52 and a twelve month high of $39.40.

Chuy’s (NASDAQ:CHUY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. Chuy’s had a net margin of 6.58% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The firm had revenue of $110.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Chuy’s will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHUY. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 13.2% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 317,179 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 37,076 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 10.7% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 948,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,978,000 after purchasing an additional 91,612 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 262,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after purchasing an additional 37,920 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Chuy’s by 29.9% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 946,167 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,914,000 after purchasing an additional 217,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chuy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors 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.