Should I Buy CBRL? CBRL 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Sell

Latest Price

30.120

1 Day change

5.94%

52 Week Range

71.930

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

CBRL is not a good buy right now for a Beginner, long-term investor who is impatient for a clean entry. The stock is in a confirmed downtrend (bearish moving averages and weakening MACD), fundamentals have deteriorated materially (Q1 FY2026 revenue down and a swing to a net loss), and Wall Street has broadly cut targets with several Sell/Underperform ratings—meaning the path to a durable long-term recovery is unclear today. Despite a modestly bullish options tilt, the risk/reward currently favors avoiding (or exiting) rather than buying. **Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals** - [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today. - [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.

Technical Analysis

Trend is bearish. Moving averages are stacked bearishly (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), indicating both intermediate and long-term downside momentum. MACD histogram is -0.28 and expanding negatively, which typically confirms weakening price action. RSI(6) at ~41.9 is neutral-to-weak (not oversold), implying there may still be room to fall before a technical rebound becomes compelling. Key levels: immediate support S1 ~29.36 (a break below increases downside risk toward S2 ~27.41). Pivot resistance is ~32.52, then ~35.68 (R1). The pre-market bounce (+4.27%) contrasts with the regular-session weakness (-1.13%), which looks more like volatility/short-covering than a confirmed reversal without reclaiming the pivot zone.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is modestly bullish (put-call ratios below 1 suggest more call interest/volume than puts). However, implied volatility is very elevated (30D IV ~73% and IV percentile ~96.8) with volume and open interest running above 30-day averages, signaling the market is pricing large moves and uncertainty. Net: sentiment leans bullish, but the high IV suggests traders are bracing for turbulence rather than expressing high-conviction long-term optimism.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Options market tilt is call-heavy (bullish bias) and activity is elevated, which can support short-term bounces.
Next earnings event (2026-02-26 after hours) could act as a catalyst if traffic stabilizes or guidance improves.
The stock is near key support (~29–30 zone); a successful hold and reclaim of ~32.5 could spark a technical rebound.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Strong downtrend technically (bearish MA stack + negative, expanding MACD) with RSI not yet oversold.
Fundamental deterioration: declining traffic narrative + guidance cuts referenced by multiple analysts.
Heavy analyst downgrades/price-target cuts reduce confidence in a near-term turnaround and can cap rallies.
Very high implied volatility implies large downside gaps are possible around catalysts (especially earnings).

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2026/Q1. Revenue fell to ~$797.2M (-5.67% YoY). Profitability worsened sharply: net income dropped to about -$24.6M (down ~-608% YoY), and EPS fell to -1.10 (down ~-600% YoY). Gross margin ticked down to ~68.84% (-0.75% YoY). Overall, growth trends are negative (declining revenue plus a swing to meaningful losses), which is not the profile of a stable long-term buy right now.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Analyst trend is decisively negative: multiple firms cut price targets following the fiscal Q1 miss and guidance cut (BofA to $29 Underperform; UBS to $26 Neutral; Gordon Haskett to $25 Underperform; Citi to $20 Sell; Piper to $27 Neutral; Wells Fargo to $30 Equal Weight; Truist remains Buy but trimmed to $45). Wall Street pros: potential long-term brand recovery if service/food improvements translate into traffic, and one bullish outlier (Truist) sees steps in the right direction. Cons: traffic declines persist, visibility into recovery is low, and several shops explicitly view catalysts as thin—leading to more Sell/Underperform stances than supportive upgrades. Influential trading check: Hedge funds and insiders are Neutral with no notable recent trend; no recent Congress trading data available. News sentiment: no notable news in the last week, so no fresh positive catalyst is currently changing the narrative.

8 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CBRL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CBRL is 28.86 USD with a low forecast of 20 USD and a high forecast of 45 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

1 Buy

4 Hold

3 Sell

Hold

Current: 28.430

Low

Averages

28.86

High

Current: 28.430

Low

Averages

28.86

High

BofA

analyst

Underperform

downgrade

$34 -> $29

AI Analysis

2025-12-19

Reason

BofA

analyst

Price Target

$34 -> $29

AI Analysis

2025-12-19

downgrade

Underperform

Reason

BofA lowered the firm's price target on Cracker Barrel to $29 from $34 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. Cracker Barrel's weaker than expected fiscal Q1 results and lowered guidance reflect the protracted nature of the brand recovery, says the analyst, who lowers the firm's Q2 restaurant same-store sales estimate to down 7.7% as it anticipates a more protracted traffic recovery throughout the year.

Truist

Jake Bartlett

Buy

downgrade

$50 -> $45

2025-12-10

Reason

Truist

Jake Bartlett

Price Target

$50 -> $45

2025-12-10

downgrade

Buy

Reason

Truist analyst Jake Bartlett lowered the firm's price target on Cracker Barrel to $45 from $50 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings miss and guidance cut. Sales trends have not begun to recover from the re-branding fiasco, or any recovery has been offset by macro pressures, but the management is taking the right steps to rebuild traffic by focusing on improved service and food quality, which is being reflected in strengthening guest satisfaction scores and will eventually be reflected in a traffic recovery, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for CBRL

Unlock Now

CBRL Should I Buy

CBRL Should I Buy

Should You Buy Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

People Also Watch