Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST) Short Interest Up 28.6% in April

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, an increase of 28.6% from the March 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 673,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $9.55 price objective (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.55 target price (down from $13.00) on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carrols Restaurant Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carrols Restaurant Group by 44.7% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 859,120 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,660,000 after acquiring an additional 265,482 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carrols Restaurant Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 646,720 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after acquiring an additional 21,900 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Carrols Restaurant Group by 181.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 460,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 296,473 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Carrols Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,230,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Carrols Restaurant Group by 447,334.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 286,358 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.80% of the company’s stock.

Carrols Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TAST remained flat at $9.51 during midday trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 206,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,352. Carrols Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $3.67 and a fifty-two week high of $9.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.33. The company has a market capitalization of $545.68 million, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 2.50.

Carrols Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:TAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.05. Carrols Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The firm had revenue of $470.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.41 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Carrols Restaurant Group will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Carrols Restaurant Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Carrols Restaurant Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

Carrols Restaurant Group Company Profile

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates restaurants in the United States. It operates quick service restaurants as a franchisee under the Burger King and Popeyes brands in 23 Northeastern, Midwestern, Southcentral, and Southeastern states. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Syracuse, New York.