Notable news items and price action from the past twenty-four hours along with our fundamental view on key names.
- DPZ reported impressive earnings, easily beating consensus. EPS came in at $0.42 versus $0.39, driven by total domestic comps of -1.4% versus consensus -4% and international comps at +8.3% versus consensus +6.5%.
- MRT reported after the close yesterday. 1Q11 EPS came in at $0.16 versus $0.13 with comparable restaurant sales up 7.5% versus consensus of 7%. Food and beverage costs came in at 31% of sales which was slightly higher than expected. 2Q guidance is for EPS of $0.03 to $0.05 versus consensus $0.05 but FY11 guidance was raised by a penny on each end of the range to $0.45 to $0.49 versus consensus $0.45. The company guided to 2Q and FY11 comps up 6-8%. Beef gained 10% in the quarter for MRT but rising commodity costs were successfully offset by price increases.
- CPKI has responded to those affected by the recent Alabama tornado with a two-day fundraiser.
- BJRI was upgraded to “Overweight” from “Neutral” at Piper Jaffray.
- MSSR’s board has decided to put the company up for sale. Tilman Fertitta/Landry’s has responded by withdrawing the proxy seeking to contest a quorum at the 2011 AGM. Mr. Fertitta said in a statement that his group hopes that the Board is “committed to conducting a process in which all acquisition proposals are fairly evaluated”.
- DIN, DRI, RUTH, CAKE, EAT, PZZA and CBOU both traded higher on accelerating volume yesterday.
- COSI, TXRH, and SONC all traded down on accelerating volume.
Howard Penney
Managing Director