Traders Purchase Large Volume of Texas Roadhouse Put Options (NASDAQ:TXRH)

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 3,420 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 134% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,462 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.26, for a total transaction of $454,302.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total transaction of $245,860.20. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,905 shares of company stock worth $3,198,367 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter worth $155,239,000. FMR LLC raised 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 worth $158,679,000 after purchasing an additional 403,720 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 worth $157,375,000 after purchasing an additional 385,998 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the third quarter worth $66,609,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Texas Roadhouse by 255.1% during 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 buying an additional 373,812 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ TXRH opened at $167.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $177.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.28. Texas Roadhouse has a 52-week low of $146.75 and a 52-week high of $206.04. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last posted 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 net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 34.02%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.63%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $205.00 to $213.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.73.

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.