Ruth’s Hospitality Group (NASDAQ:RUTH) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group (NASDAQ:RUTH – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on RUTH. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Monday, March 20th. Stephens downgraded shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group Price Performance

Shares of RUTH opened at $21.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $688.55 million, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.41. Ruth’s Hospitality Group has a 1-year low of $14.65 and a 1-year high of $21.50.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group (NASDAQ:RUTH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $138.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.13 million. Ruth’s Hospitality Group had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 32.00%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ruth’s Hospitality Group will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 60.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 72,427 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 27,269 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 257.6% during the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 248,901 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 179,297 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,160,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,050,000 after buying an additional 18,626 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 82,659 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 6,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 598,377 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,825,000 after buying an additional 19,662 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group Company Profile

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Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc engages in the development and operation of fine dining restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Company Owned Steakhouse Restaurants and Franchise Operations. The Company-Owned Steakhouse Restaurants segment operates restaurants under the Ruth’s Chris Steak House brand.