Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,180,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the January 31st total of 2,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 750,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 14.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 35,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 223,976 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,839,000 after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,990,000. Towle & Co. acquired a new stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the fourth quarter valued at $13,575,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store during the 4th quarter valued at $437,000. 96.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CBRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $46.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.63.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Trading Up 6.6 %

CBRL stock traded up $2.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.95. 2,029,991 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,064. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a fifty-two week low of $34.88 and a fifty-two week high of $74.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.12. The company has a market capitalization of $956.11 million, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.38. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.15%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.25%.

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.