Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) early Tuesday [Feb 21, 2017 | 8:45am ] posted mixed fiscal second quarter earnings results and offered a tepid outlook for 2017, sending its shares plummeting in morning trading.

Written by StockNews.com

The Lebanon, TN-based restaurant and store operator reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $2.19, which was $0.05 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $2.14.

Revenues rose 1.1% from last year to $772.7 million, however, missing analysts’ view for $780.78 million.

Cracker Barrel said that comparable store restaurant sales rose 0.6% in the latest period, helped by a 2.7% increase in average check size, which was partially offset by a 2.1% decline in restaurant traffic. The average menu price increase in Q4 was about 2.1%.

Meanwhile, comparable store retail sales fell 2.2% year-over-year. Comparable sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health, since they measure the performance of locations open at least 12 months.

CBRL’s guidance for 2017 was disappointing. The company expects Q3 EPS of $1.75 to $1.85, well below the $1.93 that analysts are looking for. For the full year 2017, Cracker Barrel reiterated its prior EPS outlook of $8.10 to $8.25, which also trails Wall Street’s view of $8.28.

Cracker Barrel also sees 2017 revenues of $2.95 billion, down from its previous outlook of $2.95 billion to $3.0 billion, and below analyst expectations for $2.98 billion. It also cut its comparable store restaurant sales outlook to growth of 0.5% to 1.0%, down from 1% to 2%, and its comparable retail sales are now seen falling -2.0% (from -1% previously).

The company commented via press release:

Commenting on the second quarter, Cracker Barrel President and Chief Executive Officer Sandra B. Cochran said, “I am pleased to report another significant increase in earnings per diluted share. We delivered second quarter operating margin growth largely driven by continued commodity favorability and the success of our cost reduction initiatives. As we look to the second half of this fiscal year, our teams remain focused on executing at the store level, providing the great food, friendly service, welcoming atmosphere and retail shopping experience that differentiates our brand from our competitors.”

...Year-to-date, CBRL had gained 1.81% prior to today’s report, versus a 5.35% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

CBRL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #9 of 54 stocks in the Restaurants category.