Two restaurants that made all the right moves

Article Excerpt

With COVID-19, shares of Texas Roadhouse and Chipotle dropped alongside the market. But both food chains used smart strategies to support their businesses during the pandemic. Now, as the economy normalizes, we think each is well-positioned to capitalize on its popular offerings to attract dine-in, pick-up and takeout customers. Each is a buy. TEXAS ROADHOUSE, $71.95, is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol TXRH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (texasroadhouse.com; Shares o/s: 68.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Yield: 2.6%) is a full-service, casual-dining restaurant chain with 672 locations in 49 U.S. states and 10 foreign countries. Each of those restaurants operates under one of three banners—Texas Roadhouse (632 locations), sports restaurant Bubba’s 33 (36), and Jaggers (4). Jaggers is a new fast-food concept featuring hamburgers, chicken, milkshakes and salads made from scratch. In the quarter ended March 29, 2022, sales jumped 23.3%, to $987.5 million from $800.6 million a year earlier. As the U.S. economy further reopened, same-store sales rose 10.6% for company-owned restaurants and…