(BWLD) - Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc - Seven analysts have raised their forecasts for this year

Buffalo Wild Wings has exceeded earnings estimates in 10 out of the past 11 quarters, with the other quarter meeting expectations. Seven analysts have raised their forecasts for this year, while six have done so for next year. Over the past month, this year's estimates have jumped 11% to $1.61 per share, while next year's numbers have increased 12% to $1.96 per share. Full Analysis Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (BWLD) engages in the ownership, operation, and franchising of restaurants in the United States. The company’s restaurants serve various food items, as well as domestic and imported beers, wines, and liquor. As of December 25, 2005, it operated 122 company-owned restaurants and 248 franchised restaurants. The stock got a huge boost from the company's outstanding third-quarter earnings report. BWLD said it earned 40 cents per share in the quarter, a full 29% ahead of the consensus estimate. It was also well ahead of the 28 cents the company earned a year ago. Total revenue increased 32.1% to $68.3 million, and company-owned restaurant sales grew 32.5% to $60.8 million. An important metric also showed nice growth. Average weekly sales for company-owned restaurants were $35,380 for the third quarter of 2006 compared to $31,361 for the same quarter last year, a 12.8% increase. Franchised restaurants averaged $42,964 for the period versus $40,149 in the third quarter a year ago, a 7.0% increase. Sally Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, remarked, "Our top-line performance drove earnings per diluted share of $0.40, an impressive increase over prior year. We are extremely pleased with our strong sales, proving that our new advertising tag line YOU HAVE TO BE HERE(TM) is on the mark." Company-owned restaurants had 11.8% same-store sales and 12.8% average weekly sales volume increases, signs of our growing brand strength. Franchised locations also continued strong same-store sales at 6.4% for the quarter, with average unit volumes on pace to exceed $2.3 million for the year." BWLD has exceeded earnings estimates in 10 out of the past 11 quarters, with the other quarter meeting expectations. Seven analysts have raised their forecasts for this year, while six have done so for next year. Over the past month, this year's estimates have jumped 11% to $1.61 per share, while next year's numbers have increased 12% to $1.96 per share. The stock is trading at 27.2x next year's estimate of $1.96 per share, slightly above the long-term growth rate of 24.71%, giving the stock a PEG ratio of 1.10. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home