Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,432 Shares of CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group sharply cut its CAVA Group stake in the fourth quarter, selling 20,432 shares and reducing its holdings by 74.2% to 7,117 shares worth about $418,000.
• CAVA reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $0.20 on revenue of $438.27 million, as sales rose 32.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $93.19, while the stock traded down 0.9% to $77.47.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,117 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,432 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CAVA Group were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAVA. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 105.4% during the 3rd 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 period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,098,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 118.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,953,688 shares of the company's stock worth $178,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,630 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,469,758 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,146,502 shares of the company's stock worth $129,670,000 after acquiring an additional 794,547 shares during the period. 73.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on CAVA Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Guggenheim started coverage on CAVA Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CAVA Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised CAVA Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on CAVA Group in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.19.

CAVA Group Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:CAVA opened at $77.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.99, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.77. CAVA Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.41 and a 1-year high of $98.79.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $438.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $360.89 million. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 4.79%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CAVA Group

In other CAVA Group news, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 9,044 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.75, for a total value of $721,259.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 327,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,148,589.50. The trade was a 2.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Adam David Phillips sold 5,181 shares of CAVA Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $399,662.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,215.70. This represents a 35.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 24,235 shares of company stock valued at $1,920,420 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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