S&P Equity Research Downgrades Select Restaurant Stocks Based on Valuation

S&P Equity Research Downgrades Select Restaurant Stocks Based on Valuation 


NEW YORK, Nov. 4  /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's equity analyst covering
restaurant companies downgraded shares of several restaurants today, following a
surge in share prices in recent weeks.  A leading provider of independent
investment research, ratings and indices, Standard & Poor's made this
announcement through Standard & Poor's MarketScope, its real-time market
intelligence service.

"Many restaurant stocks have surged over the past several weeks, which we
attribute to improving same-store sales trends," says Dennis Milton, Restaurants
Analyst, Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services.  "While we believe the
restaurant industry is well positioned to benefit over the next several years
from demographic trends that favor dining out, current valuations have caused us
to revise our outlooks for several stocks.  We are downgrading to "Hold" (***
out of *****) from "Accumulate" (**** out of *****) shares of Landry's
Restaurants (NYSE:LNY) at $25.70 per share, Steak n Shake (NYSE:SNS) at $18.00
per share, and Bob Evans Farms (NASDAQ:BOBE) at $30.60 per share.  We are also
downgrading the shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) to "Avoid" (** out of
*****) from "Hold" (*** out of *****) at $41.80 per share," concludes Milton.

About Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS)

Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), which was first
introduced on December 31, 1986, reflects the opinions of Standard & Poor's
equity analysts on the price appreciation potential of 1,200 U.S. stocks for the
next 12 month period.  Rankings range from five-STARS ("Buy") to one-STARS
("Sell").

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services has the largest U.S. equity coverage
count among equity research firms that are not affiliated with a Wall Street
investment bank, analyzing 1,200 U.S. stocks.  Standard & Poor's, a division of
The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of
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and valuations.  With 5000 employees located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's
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decisions.  For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/.

The analyst quoted above is a Standard & Poor's equity analyst.  He has no
affiliation with any company referenced above.  He has no ownership interest in
any company referenced above.  Standard & Poor's other affiliates may provide
services to the companies that are the subject of this report. Standard & Poor's
analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to
preserve the independence of each analytic process.  In this regard, STARS,
which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, operates
independently from, and has no access to information obtained by Standard &
Poor's Ratings Services, which may in the course of its operations obtain access
to confidential information.

Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate
activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process.  In
this regard, STARS, which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research
Services, operates independently from, and has no access to information obtained
by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, which may in the course of its operations
obtain access to confidential information. 

DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's



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