Short Interest in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) Rises By 43.3%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TXRH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $213.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Texas Roadhouse from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $213.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.73.

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Texas Roadhouse Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Texas Roadhouse stock traded down $4.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.09. 1,005,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,407. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.71 and a 200 day moving average of $181.29. Texas Roadhouse has a fifty-two week low of $146.75 and a fifty-two week high of $206.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Texas Roadhouse

In other Texas Roadhouse news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of Texas Roadhouse stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,794,600. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of Texas Roadhouse stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,374.96. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TXRH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,239,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 898,522 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $158,679,000 after purchasing an additional 403,720 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 893,925 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $157,375,000 after purchasing an additional 385,998 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,609,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 520,352 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $93,888,000 after purchasing an additional 373,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.