Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Trims Holdings in Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its position in Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH – Get Rating) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,240 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.12% of Ruth’s Hospitality Group worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,096 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 78,790 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,067 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ruth’s Hospitality Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ruth’s Hospitality Group in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ruth’s Hospitality Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 24th.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ RUTH opened at $16.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $536.64 million, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.57. Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.65 and a fifty-two week high of $23.31.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a boost from Ruth’s Hospitality Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Ruth’s Hospitality Group’s dividend payout ratio is 55.17%.

About Ruth’s Hospitality Group

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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.