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

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) saw a large increase in short interest in 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 company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Texas Roadhouse

In other Texas Roadhouse news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of Texas Roadhouse stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,794,600. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of Texas Roadhouse 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. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Texas Roadhouse

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TXRH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,239,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 898,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $158,679,000 after buying an additional 403,720 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 893,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,375,000 after buying an additional 385,998 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Texas Roadhouse in the third quarter worth approximately $66,609,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $93,888,000 after buying an additional 373,812 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett downgraded Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.73.

Texas Roadhouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TXRH opened at $172.49 on Friday. Texas Roadhouse has a 1 year low of $146.75 and a 1 year high of $206.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. Equities research analysts expect that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Texas Roadhouse’s payout ratio is presently 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.