Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST) was the target of a significant 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. Based on an average daily volume of 673,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TAST. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Carrols Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $494,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in Carrols Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Carrols Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carrols Restaurant Group by 127.1% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 29,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Carrols Restaurant Group Stock Performance

TAST stock remained flat at $9.51 during trading on Monday. The company had a trading volume of 206,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,352. 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’s fifty day moving average is $9.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.33. Carrols Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $3.67 and a twelve month high of $9.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.68 million, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 2.50.

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

Carrols Restaurant Group Dividend Announcement

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

About Carrols Restaurant Group

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.