Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CAVA Group, Inc. $CAVA

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its CAVA stake by 215.2% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 475,189 shares and bringing its total holding to 695,961 shares worth about $40.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to positions, and 73.15% of CAVA’s stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions, showing strong institutional interest.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on CAVA, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $89.70, even as the stock recently fell 5.9% to $79.52.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA - Free Report) by 215.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 695,961 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 475,189 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of CAVA Group worth $40,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in CAVA Group by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,863 shares of the company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 9,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of CAVA Group by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 47,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 14,898 shares during the period. 73.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAVA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of CAVA Group to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $75.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of CAVA Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.70.

CAVA Group Stock Down 5.9%

CAVA stock opened at $79.52 on Friday. CAVA Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.41 and a fifty-two week high of $101.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $85.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.47. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 147.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.90.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $274.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.04 million. CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 8.43%. CAVA Group's revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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