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

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a decline of 18.4% from the February 28th total of 3,310,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 18,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,418,374.96. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.26, for a total value of $454,302.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,905 shares of company stock worth $3,198,367. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TXRH. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Texas Roadhouse during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Texas Roadhouse by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Texas Roadhouse during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 32.2% during 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 in the last quarter. 94.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TXRH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $185.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $205.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.36.

Texas Roadhouse Price Performance

NASDAQ:TXRH traded down $7.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.86. 1,929,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 851,029. Texas Roadhouse has a twelve month low of $146.75 and a twelve month high of $206.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $175.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Texas Roadhouse had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 34.02%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Texas Roadhouse's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Texas Roadhouse's payout ratio is 42.04%.

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.