First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 70,987 Shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $CBRL

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) by 132.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,739 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,987 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store were worth $3,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 22.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 12,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the 1st quarter valued at $359,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Argus lifted their target price on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $34.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.14.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of CBRL opened at $58.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.65 and a beta of 1.20. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.85 and a 12 month high of $63.61.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.74. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store had a return on equity of 2.78% and a net margin of 0.79%.The company had revenue of $797.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. will post 0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.21%.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Profile

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc operates a distinctive combination of country-themed restaurants and retail stores across the United States. Since its founding in 1969, the company has focused on providing a nostalgic dining experience reminiscent of Southern hospitality, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on traditional comfort foods.

The restaurant segment offers an extensive menu featuring signature items such as buttermilk pancakes, country ham, biscuits and gravy, meatloaf and pot roast.