Investors Buy Large Volume of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Call Options (NASDAQ:CBRL)

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 2,842 call options on the company. This is an increase of 45% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,956 call options.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBRL traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.42. 1,230,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,104,407. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 43.47 and a beta of 1.20. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a one year low of $24.85 and a one year high of $71.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.74 and its 200 day moving average is $33.29.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.74. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 2.78%. The firm had revenue of $797.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will post -0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s payout ratio is 86.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CBRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.14.

Institutional Trading of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. 96.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc operates a distinctive combination of country-themed restaurants and retail stores across the United States. Since its founding in 1969, the company has focused on providing a nostalgic dining experience reminiscent of Southern hospitality, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on traditional comfort foods.

The restaurant segment offers an extensive menu featuring signature items such as buttermilk pancakes, country ham, biscuits and gravy, meatloaf and pot roast.