Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $111.23, but opened at $127.79. Shake Shack shares last traded at $123.87, with a volume of 1,157,170 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. Shake Shack had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 0.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SHAK shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Shake Shack from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Shake Shack from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Shake Shack from $128.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised shares of Shake Shack from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Shake Shack in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shake Shack presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shake Shack

In other Shake Shack news, CFO Katherine Irene Fogertey sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.51, for a total value of $88,281.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,223,894.67. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Shake Shack by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 3,817 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shake Shack during the third quarter worth about $279,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shake Shack in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Shake Shack by 268.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 104,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,771,000 after purchasing an additional 75,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Shake Shack by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,992,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 86.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shake Shack Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 730.94 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.11.

About Shake Shack

Shake Shack Inc owns, operates, and licenses Shake Shack restaurants (Shacks) in the United States and internationally. Its Shacks offers hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, crinkle cut fries, shakes, frozen custard, beer, wine, and other products. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in New York, New York.