Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered shares of Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Texas Roadhouse to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Stephens raised Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $220.00 price target on Texas Roadhouse in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Texas Roadhouse has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.04.

Texas Roadhouse Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:TXRH traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $185.98. 715,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,134. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.81. Texas Roadhouse has a 52 week low of $153.82 and a 52 week high of $216.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.03.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.10). Texas Roadhouse had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 27.01%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gerald Morgan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.17, for a total value of $3,032,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 80,970 shares in the company, valued at $16,369,704.90. This represents a 15.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lloyd Marshall sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $102,325.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,890.90. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,286 shares of company stock worth $3,687,138 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TXRH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Texas Roadhouse in the 2nd quarter worth $1,273,173,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,541,791 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,920,000 after purchasing an additional 119,803 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 864,006 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $142,670,000 after purchasing an additional 34,385 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the second quarter valued at about $113,993,000. Finally, Park Presidio Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the second quarter valued at about $102,977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

About Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. operates and franchises casual dining restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba’s 33 and Jaggers brands. Its restaurants are known for a lively atmosphere and made-from-scratch food. The Texas Roadhouse menu features hand-cut steaks, ribs, chicken, seafood and made-from-scratch sides, along with freshly baked bread. Bubba’s 33 offers a sports-bar setting with items such as burgers, pizza and wings, while Jaggers focuses on burgers, chicken sandwiches and salads. Founded in 1993 in Clarksville, Indiana, Texas Roadhouse is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.