Zoe’s Kitchen Inc (ZOES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Zoe’s Kitchen Inc (NYSE:ZOES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.21.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ZOES shares. ValuEngine raised shares of Zoe’s Kitchen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 6th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Zoe’s Kitchen from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. William Blair lowered shares of Zoe’s Kitchen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 25th. Maxim Group lowered shares of Zoe’s Kitchen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, May 25th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies lowered shares of Zoe’s Kitchen from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, May 25th.

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A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Zoe’s Kitchen by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,064,228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,808,000 after purchasing an additional 86,351 shares during the period. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Zoe’s Kitchen by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 821,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,738,000 after purchasing an additional 261,500 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Zoe’s Kitchen by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 591,380 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in Zoe’s Kitchen during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,846,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zoe’s Kitchen by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 364,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 59,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.43% of the company’s stock.

NYSE:ZOES traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.36. 430,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 514,396. Zoe’s Kitchen has a 12 month low of $8.59 and a 12 month high of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $206.62 million, a P/E ratio of -103.60 and a beta of 0.15.

Zoe’s Kitchen (NYSE:ZOES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 24th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.11). Zoe’s Kitchen had a negative return on equity of 3.61% and a negative net margin of 1.73%. The company had revenue of $102.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts predict that Zoe’s Kitchen will post -0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoe’s Kitchen Company Profile

Zoe's Kitchen, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants. It operates a range of restaurant formats, including in-line, end-cap, and free-standing restaurants. As of February 22, 2018, the company operated owned and franchised 249 restaurants in 20 states of the United States.

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