Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) reported Q4 results on Tuesday (hey, what day did you expect the company to do it on?) after the bell. By the looks of the price action going into the report, as well as the price action after the report, you would have thought that the results were incredible. They were, in terms of an earnings beat, but other aspects of the report gave me pause.

Ruby Tuesday made 28 cents per diluted share during the fourth quarter. According to Reuters, analysts were only looking for 20 cents of per-share profit. Okay, so we know why Wall Street was so excited. Beating by 8 cents is impressive.

Continue reading Ruby Tuesday rallied yesterday after impressive earnings beat

Ruby Tuesday rallied yesterday after impressive earnings beat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy

Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman upgraded the small-cap bank sector to Neutral from Negative as they expect the group to benefit from the decline in short-term interest rates and the steeping yield curve. The firm upgraded Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC), Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) and Westpac Banking Corp (NYSE: WBK) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Friedman Billings added Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) to its Top Picks list. The firm believes the company can outperform the group and overall market in an economic downturn.
  
• Warnaco Group (NASDAQ: WRNC) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan on valuation and growth potential.
  
• JMP Securities' checks indicate that Intersections (NASDAQ: INTX) is on track to meet EPS expectations for the quarter and is well positioned to beat their 2008 EPS estimate of 80c. The firm raised shares to Strong Buy from Outperform.

• Best Buy Incorporated (NYSE: BBY) and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) were upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.
  
• The firm also upgraded shares of CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) and Plexus Corp (NASDAQ: PLXS) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• Bear Stearns raised MFA Mortgage Investments (NYSE: MFA) to Outperform from Peer Perform.
  
• Goldman added Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP) to its Conviction Buy List.

Analyst upgrades: Small-cap banks, WCN, WRNC and INTX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. beverage sector, including Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), Anheuser Busch Companies (NYSE: BUD), PepsiAmericas Inc (NYSE: PAS) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm cited expectations for a stronger 2008, benign commodity cost outlook, better than expected US beer demand, and valuations. Goldman upgraded shares of PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and improving industry fundamentals.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing positive Flex trial results and the new market opportunity for Erbitux.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) to Market Weight from Underweight based on healthy August trends, credit market may ease concerns over supply growth, and valuations.

• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Western Digital Corp (NYSE: WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
• KeyBanc raised Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Hold from Underweight.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upped to Buy from Hold at Gabelli.

Analyst upgrades 9-11-07: U.S. beverage sector, IMCL, HOT and MAR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bowing to the pressure from former SEC Chairman turned activist investor Richard Breeden, Applebee's International Inc. (Nasdaq:APPB) has put itself for sale. Investors aren't finding much to like about other casual dining chains either.

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (Nasdaq:CAKE) has tanked 27 percent over the past year., P.F. Changs China Bistro Inc. (Nasdaq:PFCB) are down 20 percent over the past year. Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI) parent of the Olive Garden, is up about 3 percent, while Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE:RI) is up about 4 percent not including its run-up today on the news about Applebee's.

Have Americans grown tired of cheesy chain restaurants or did these chains grow too fast? Whatever the reason, Wall Street seems to prefer tried and true fast-food chains over their more expensive counterparts.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) reported a 4.9 percent increase in comprable same-store sales in January. Applebee's, which reports earnings tomorrow, had a 5.8 percent decline during the same period. Its shares are up 23 percent. Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM), up 19 percent. had a strong fourth quarter despite of the Taco Bell scare.

Applebee's isn't the only casual chain dissed by Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Interactive Entertainment, Nokia (NOK) and Motorola (MOT) top today's small list of initiations.

• Bear Stearns re-initiated the Interactive Entertainment sector with a Market Weight rating.
  • The firm re-initiated Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) and THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) with Peer Perform ratings
  • and Take Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) with an Underperform rating.
  Bear Stearns is cautious on the sector given valuations and cost increases.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) were initiated with Hold ratings at Lazard. The firm's reason for the Hold rating at Motorola was the slowing RAZR platform and slowing American market. The Hold at Nokia is due to increasing dependence on riskier emerging markets for growth and the expectation of industry margin remaining as an overhang.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan initiated Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE:RI) with a Neutral rating.
• W.R. Hambrecht initiated Baidu.com, Inc. (ADS) (NASDAQ:BIDU) with a Buy and $130 target. The firm said Baidu.com is well positioned to benefit from positive search trends, the adoption of paid search by SME's and brand advertisers, e-commerce growth and the emergence of user-generated content.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 11-16-06: Nokia and Motorola with Hold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.