Benchmark Upgrades CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) to “Strong-Buy”

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CAVA. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on CAVA Group from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Telsey Advisory Group started coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on CAVA Group from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

CAVA Group Stock Performance

NYSE CAVA opened at $69.95 on Thursday. CAVA Group has a twelve month low of $43.41 and a twelve month high of $144.49. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 60.30, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 2.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.61.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). CAVA Group had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $292.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CAVA Group will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 21,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total transaction of $1,459,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 807,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,421,778.25. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 1,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $64,563.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 332,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,643,218.70. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 42,843 shares of company stock valued at $2,764,355 in the last ninety days. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAVA. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CAVA Group by 105.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,228,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,553 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in CAVA Group in the third quarter worth about $114,098,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in CAVA Group by 118.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,953,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,630 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,634,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in CAVA Group by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,146,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,670,000 after purchasing an additional 794,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc (NYSE: CAVA) is a leading fast-casual restaurant company specializing in Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Operating under the CAVA brand, the company offers customizable bowls, pitas and salads built around a variety of proteins, grains, fresh vegetables and house-made spreads. With a focus on high-quality ingredients and made-to-order preparation, CAVA aims to deliver a casual yet elevated dining experience for dine-in, takeout and catering customers.

Founded in 2011 in the Washington, DC metro area by Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Katsanis and Brett Schulman, CAVA has pursued an aggressive growth strategy that included the 2018 acquisition of Zoe’s Kitchen.