Short Interest in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) Drops By 19.7%

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the September 15th total of 2,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 709,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 10.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CBRL. Argus lowered shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBRL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,616,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $190,263,000 after purchasing an additional 6,804 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,036,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $148,107,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,636,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 115,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,489,000 after purchasing an additional 28,627 shares in the last quarter. 96.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Stock Up 3.1 %

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.54. 560,657 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 750,134. The company has a market cap of $988.88 million, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.43. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a twelve month low of $34.88 and a twelve month high of $83.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.16 and a 200-day moving average of $47.43.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $894.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $898.94 million. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 1.18%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc develops and operates the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store concept in the United States. Its Cracker Barrel stores consist of restaurants with a gift shop. The company's restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, as well as dine-in, pick-up, and delivery services.