AXQ Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)

AXQ Capital LP lowered its stake in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,421 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,778 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Texas Roadhouse were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TXRH. FMR LLC grew its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 893,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,375,000 after acquiring an additional 385,998 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Texas Roadhouse in the third quarter worth $66,609,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the fourth quarter worth $55,177,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 2,216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 176,280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,831,000 after buying an additional 168,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TXRH opened at $169.88 on Friday. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has a one year low of $146.75 and a one year high of $206.04. The firm has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.14.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Texas Roadhouse, Inc. will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Texas Roadhouse’s payout ratio is currently 42.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $213.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.26, for a total transaction of $454,302.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.64, for a total transaction of $585,508.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 18,414 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,374.96. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% 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.