Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) Short Interest Up 43.3% in February

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,310,000 shares, an increase of 43.3% from the February 13th total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TXRH shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reduced their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett cut Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $213.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.73.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ TXRH opened at $172.49 on Friday. Texas Roadhouse has a fifty-two week low of $146.75 and a fifty-two week high of $206.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Hernan E. Mujica sold 2,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.66, for a total transaction of $349,853.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,928,866.92. This represents a 10.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total value of $245,860.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,794,600. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,905 shares of company stock worth $3,198,367 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TXRH. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Texas Roadhouse during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Texas Roadhouse by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Company Profile

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.