Morgan Stanley Upgrades Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $213.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $205.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $192.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.26.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TXRH opened at $179.13 on Tuesday. Texas Roadhouse has a 52-week low of $121.79 and a 52-week high of $206.04. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $188.06 and a 200-day moving average of $179.09.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last released 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 net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 6.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total transaction of $245,860.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,600. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Donna E. Epps sold 610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.66, for a total value of $119,352.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,071.12. The trade was a 14.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,480 shares of company stock worth $668,603. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Texas Roadhouse

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Texas Roadhouse in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Texas Roadhouse by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Texas Roadhouse in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors 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.