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

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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. Approximately 5.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TXRH traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $169.01. 238,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 804,218. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $177.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. Texas Roadhouse has a 12 month low of $146.75 and a 12 month high of $206.04.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share 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. Analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Texas Roadhouse's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Texas Roadhouse's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TXRH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens dropped their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $213.00 price objective 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 research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Texas Roadhouse presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Curtis Warfield sold 4,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.80, for a total value of $749,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,802,661.60. This represents a 29.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.64, for a total transaction of $585,508.56. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 18,414 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,374.96. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,905 shares of company stock worth $3,198,367 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,540,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,180,123,000 after buying an additional 76,051 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,479,323 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $447,344,000 after purchasing an additional 138,675 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 2.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,848 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $350,171,000 after purchasing an additional 38,723 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,300,987 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $234,737,000 after purchasing an additional 402,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Texas Roadhouse by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,207,645 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $217,959,000 after purchasing an additional 6,004 shares during the last quarter. 94.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.