Short Interest in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) Declines By 17.3%

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,630,000 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the February 13th total of 3,180,000 shares. Currently, 12.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 828,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CBRL. Bank of America lifted their price target on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.13.

Institutional Trading of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 685.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 1,601.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 970 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,349 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. 96.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Price Performance

Shares of CBRL traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $40.38. The stock had a trading volume of 358,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,000. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.83 and a 200 day moving average of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $898.87 million, a PE ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.57. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a twelve month low of $34.88 and a twelve month high of $74.21.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s payout ratio is currently 62.11%.

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.