Theflyonthewall.com is Wall Street's specialist in breaking equity news. Veteran traders build a proprietary feed of news that's faster and more relevant than any other source. Try us for free and discover for yourself.
Bernard Lirola of Needham Growth is currently buying retail stocks and industrial stocks. They think that retail stocks have a lot of leverage over manufacturers and that retailers started to offer exclusive products which will lower price competition.
One of their favorites is Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), and they also like Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICON). Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) is also one of their top picks, along with Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. (NYSE: MRT) and Actuate Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTU).
Analysts were expecting Morton's Restaurant Group Inc. (MRT) [Chart - News - Analysis] to report earnings of $-0.07 for last quarter, but MRT missed expectations with actual earnings of $-0.16---9 cents below the consensus estimate. MRT also issued earnings guidance for next quarter that is in line with current analyst expectations.
If you compare last quarter's earnings to the $-0.19 the company made per share during the same quarter a year ago, you can see that MRT’s earnings are up this year.
{loadposition link_newslink1}
{loadposition livevideopromo}
{loadposition homeaccordion2}
{loadposition contentad}
Also, if you compare MRT's 14.00% projected earnings-per-share (EPS) growth rate for the next five years with the projected EPS growth rate of 10.89% for the Restaurants industry as a whole during that same time frame, you can see that analysts expect MRT to outperform the industry in the future---which is a good sign for the stock.
Drilling down a little deeper into the Restaurants industry, you can see how analysts believe MRT will stack up against some of the other stocks in the industry, like The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE) [Chart - News - Analysis] and Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) [Chart - News - Analysis], in the future. Analysts believe CAKE's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 14.32% while DRI's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 12.32%.
Earnings season can be a volatile time in the stock market. Check out these videos and articles to be better prepared to take advantage of the large price moves that tend to accompany earnings announcements.
Yesterday, in the last half hour of trading, I made the case that Ruth's Chris (RUTH) and Morton's (MRT) had missed out of the run-up in restaurants because they cater to business travelers, not consumers. However, I thought a turn was coming.
Today, we see that turn. RUTH is up 34% and MRT is up 18%.
Please note that due to factors including low market capitalization and/or insufficient public float, we consider RUTH and MRT to be small-cap stocks. You should be aware that such stocks are subject to more risk than stocks of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less publicly available information, and that postings such as this one can have an effect on their stock prices.
Two months ago, the only restaurant investors were talking about was McDonalds (MCD). Within the last month, many other restaurant chains have outperformed the market handily, such as Darden (DRI) and Panera Bread (PNRA).
Yesterday, we saw stand-out numbers for casual diner PF Chang's China Bistro (PFCB) and a great move for Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD).
So, which restaurants might be next to join the party? More business-oriented ones such as Mortons (MRT) and Ruth's Chris (RUTH). Both cater to the business exec entertaining clients. They've suffered with the general downturn even more than the consumer-oriented chains. Turns out the business execs (or at least their CFOs) are more frugal about their steaks than families are about going out for a sit-down at their local Olive Garden in tough times.
Looking at MRT and RUTH, you can see both have lagged other chains over the last 6 - 12 months. If things continue to stabilize in the broader economy, look for these two to make a comeback relative to their consumer-oriented peers. RUTH has already made a good move in the last month (but beware its debt levels).
The engine of the great American Economy is, and always will be, the consumer. You and your neighbors and all of your buying power will determine how well the market performs. Right now, it seems as though everyone is hurting — so it’s the right time to capitalize on the pain with solid small-cap plays. It all begins with the struggling consumer: your neighbor. His home is worth 20% less than it was just a couple of years ago and he’s upside down on his mortgage. He was laid off from a good job back in November when everyone started to fear the worst—and was forced to take a job that pays much less. During better times, your neighbor would pay lip service to the idea of saving money — without actually following through, of course… But the situation has now become far more serious. It’s time to save some dough and pay those bills on time… or risk losing it all. But where to cut back? Here is a list of the average[More...]
Think your stocks are doing bad? Try the best steakhouses in the country, in the last year Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) shares have fallen 70% and Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. (NYSE:MRT) is down 64%.
Beef. It's what people don't want to pay for when out for dinner.
Think your stocks are doing bad? Try the best steakhouses in the country, in the last year Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:
