Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on TXRH. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen started coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $190.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.70.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ TXRH opened at $162.48 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $174.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.47. Texas Roadhouse has a one year low of $156.00 and a one year high of $199.99. The company has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.88.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.25). Texas Roadhouse had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is 49.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Texas Roadhouse news, President Regina A. Tobin sold 4,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.00, for a total value of $760,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,356,038. This trade represents a 24.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.59, for a total value of $291,703.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,988 shares of company stock worth $3,198,144. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,638,914 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $604,606,000 after purchasing an additional 466,176 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,674,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $443,901,000 after purchasing an additional 575,685 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,537,290 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $421,190,000 after purchasing an additional 300,405 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,387,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $230,317,000 after purchasing an additional 522,509 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,367,120 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $226,984,000 after purchasing an additional 24,834 shares during the period. 94.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse, Inc is a casual dining restaurant chain specializing in hand‐cut steaks, fall‐off‐the‐bone ribs, chicken, seafood and house specialties. Each restaurant features a Western‐themed décor, open kitchens and a signature line dance presentation of fresh, made‐from‐scratch sides and breads. The company emphasizes an energetic dining experience, focusing on hospitality, value and a family‐friendly environment.

The concept was created in 1993 by founder Kent Taylor, who sought to combine high‐quality steaks with an approachable, community‐oriented atmosphere.