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The Best Options Trade for Cracker Barrel (CBRL) Earnings

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On Wednesday, September 14th, Cracker Barrel (CBRL - Free Report) will release its Q4 2016 earnings results before the bell. The company is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), and they beat earnings expectations last quarter by 1.11%.

Dave will investigate Cracker Barrel’s (CBRL - Free Report) past earnings, look at what is currently going on with the company, and will give us his thoughts on their upcoming earnings announcement as well.

Furthermore, Dave will uncover some potential options trades for investors looking to make a play on Cracker Barrel ahead of earnings.

Cracker Barrel in Focus 

Cracker Barrel is a chain of restaurants in the United States. They are unique in their industry by showcasing their restaurants to having old-country feel from the design of their establishments to their unique gift shop. Besides serving food, you are able to buy many odds and ends at Cracker Barrel, including rocking chairs to seasonal gifts. Therefore, they are in a unique position by being able to generate sales and revenues beyond just serving food.

Cracker Barrel is expected to report earnings this quarter of $2.10 per share according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Last quarter, they reported an earnings beat of $0.02 cents, edging out the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.82 per share. CBRL has seen an average surprise of 3.2% over the last four quarters, so investors are likely looking for another solid performance from the company.

CRACKER BARREL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CRACKER BARREL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | CRACKER BARREL Quote

Cracker Barrel is trading around $150 a share, and they are way above their 52-week low of $118 a share, but shy of their 52-week high of $172 a share thanks to the recent sell-off.

If we look to the industry at large though, we will note that the retail-restaurants industry is currently ranked in the bottom 23% according to the Zacks Industry Rank, so the overall outlook isn’t that great. This is definitely something that should concern CBRL investors, and especially ahead of the report. 

That said, Cracker Barrel has been easily outperforming the retail-restaurant sector. Potentially the main reasons for their outperformance is due to their unique approach in the sector by serving rustic food over going all-in on trends from fusion to organic. In addition to their approach, their competition isn’t as great like other restaurants. Furthermore, their approach to having a retail portion of their business selling items that aren’t common gives them a competitive edge in their industry.

Bottom Line

Looking ahead, it seems like Cracker Barrel could be poised for another earnings beat. It is hard to gauge how big of a surprise Cracker Barrel will post, but at this time it’ll be surprising if they miss earnings expectations.

But how should investors play this company ahead of its report? For insights on the best options trades, make sure to watch Dave Bartosiak at 1pm central time on Tuesday on our YouTube Channel, and check out our other recent videos for more investing information.


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