Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a drop of 18.4% from the February 28th total of 3,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TXRH. Citigroup raised their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $213.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $185.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Texas Roadhouse

In related news, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.64, for a total value of $585,508.56. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 18,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,374.96. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Curtis Warfield sold 4,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.80, for a total transaction of $749,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,661.60. The trade was a 29.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake 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. Finally, Trek Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Price Performance

NASDAQ TXRH opened at $166.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $176.11 and its 200 day moving average is $181.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. Texas Roadhouse has a 1 year low of $146.75 and a 1 year high of $206.04.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.04%.

About Texas Roadhouse

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.