Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST) Short Interest Update

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, a growth of 28.6% from the March 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 673,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carrols Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Carrols Restaurant Group by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Carrols Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Carrols Restaurant Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,274 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Carrols Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Carrols Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $98,000. 86.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on TAST. Craig Hallum reaffirmed 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 set a "buy" rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $9.55 target price (down from $13.00) on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $9.55 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Carrols Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.87.

Carrols Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TAST remained flat at $9.51 during trading hours on Friday. 378,133 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 459,537. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $9.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Carrols Restaurant Group has a 52 week low of $3.67 and a 52 week high of $9.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 2.50.

Carrols Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:TAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Carrols Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The business had revenue of $470.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $470.41 million. Research analysts predict that Carrols Restaurant Group will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Carrols Restaurant Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Friday, March 8th. Carrols Restaurant Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.