Watchman Group Inc. Takes $3.15 Million Position in CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Watchman Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 53,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,152,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CAVA Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,189,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 162.9% in the fourth quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 67,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,951,000 after buying an additional 41,712 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,600,630 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 57.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 222,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,441,000 after buying an additional 81,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 20.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 103,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,000 after buying an additional 17,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.81.

CAVA Group Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE CAVA opened at $79.96 on Tuesday. CAVA Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.41 and a 12 month high of $98.79. The stock has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.08, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.15.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The company had revenue of $274.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 9,044 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.75, for a total transaction of $721,259.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 327,882 shares in the company, valued at $26,148,589.50. This trade represents a 2.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CAVA Group Company Profile

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.