PF Chang's China Bistro Inc.

Company Description

PF Chang's China Bistro, Inc. through its subsidiaries, owns and operates specialty restaurants in the United States. The company runs over 350 restaurants and has a market cap of $734 million.

PF Chang's is one of the few higher end restaurant operators that has held up well in the down-trodden economy. The company's first-quarter results, reported on Apr 22, were ahead of expectations.

First-Quarter Results

Sales were up 1% from last year to $310 million. Income, however, was up an impressive 33% to $13.7 million, producing earnings of 56 cents, well ahead of the consensus of 33 cents.

It was the fourth time in the last four quarters that the PF Chang's has surprised and beat estimates, having done so by an average of 11 cents, or 34%.

Earnings Details

Sales at the company's flag ship restaurant PF Changs were down 1% while sales at the company's smaller Pei Wei Asian were up 7%.

Aside from the small up-tick in sales, the company's solid earnings were born out of operational efficiencies and cost cutting.

Guidance and Estimates

PF Chang's was a bit cautious when offering guidance, saying it expects sales to be mostly flat for the remainder of 2009. But once again, due to operational efficiencies, it raised its earnings guidance to $1.45 to $1.50.

Analysts are also bullish, with the next-year estimate pegged at $1.78 per share, a 10% earnings growth projection.

The Chart

Shares of PFCB have been in rally mode since early March, jumping from just below $17 to a recent high above $34. Shares are currently pressuring the medium-term trend line that has been supporting prices for the last 3 months, take a look below.