Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $213.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior target price of $205.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $206.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Texas Roadhouse from $215.00 to $209.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.26.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Up 1.7 %

TXRH stock opened at $182.04 on Tuesday. Texas Roadhouse has a 52-week low of $119.52 and a 52-week high of $206.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.06). Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Texas Roadhouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Texas Roadhouse will post 6.4 EPS for the current year.

Texas Roadhouse Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,794,600. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Donna E. Epps sold 610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.66, for a total value of $119,352.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,071.12. This trade represents a 14.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,480 shares of company stock worth $668,603. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Texas Roadhouse

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TXRH. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 128.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 765,096 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $131,375,000 after purchasing an additional 430,814 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% during 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the third quarter valued at $66,609,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the third quarter valued at $41,670,000. 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.