Ruby Tuesday (RT) Dips to a 52-Week Low on Dismal Q1

Zacks

Shares of Ruby Tuesday, Inc. RT plunged to a 52-week low of $5.15 on Oct 15, declining roughly 23.8% year-to-date. On Oct 8, the Tennessee-based casual dining restaurant owner reported disappointing first-quarter fiscal 2016 results, wherein loss widened and revenues declined year over year.

In fact, Ruby Tuesday’s stock has lost more than 21% value following the dismal results.

Reasons Behind the 52-Week Low

Ruby Tuesday posted a loss of 3 cents per share, marginally wider than the year-ago loss of a penny. Total revenue of $279.5 million declined 0.6%, primarily due to the closure of 11 underperforming company-owned restaurants which were operational in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales rose only 0.6% at company-owned restaurants which was hardly enough to prevent the revenue decline. The comps decline reflected a 2.9% decrease in guest count. Comps were negatively impacted by approximately 30 basis points (bps) as the Labor Day holiday, which was included in first-quarter fiscal 2015, shifted to the second quarter this year.

Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant-level margins declined 170 bps year over year to 15.9%. This was because of an increase in other restaurant operating costs as a result of higher repair and maintenance expense and other restaurant supplies.

Ruby Tuesday’s currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector are Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI, Jack in the Box Inc. JACK and Bob Evans Farms, Inc. BOBE. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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