Aggressive investing: Ruby Tuesday reports higher sales and earnings

Ruby Tuesday (New York symbol RT) owns 676 restaurants in the U.S. Franchisees run another 140 U.S. outlets, and international franchisees operate 58 restaurants overseas. Ruby Tuesday is one of the stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. Ruby Tuesday offers casual American dining. The company’s fall menu contains a number of new offerings, including Fit & Trim entrees, complimentary garlic cheese biscuits, additional side items and an improved Sunday brunch. In the three months ended November 30, 2010, overall sales rose 6.2% to $290.4 million from $273.4 million a year earlier. The aggressive investing stock’s same-restaurant sales rose 4.2%. Ruby Tuesday earned $4.6 million, or $0.07 a share. That’s much better than the $431,000, or $0.01 a share, it earned a year earlier. The higher sales were part of the reason for the increase. Ruby Tuesday also did a good job of controlling its costs. You can get our full analysis, including our clear buy/sell/hold advice, on Ruby Tuesday in today’s Stock Pickers Digest hotline. You can get this hotline, plus one free month of Stock Pickers Digest, when you subscribe now. Click here to learn how.

Jim is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for The Successful Investor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Jim has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1992 and spent more than a decade at the Financial Post DataGroup before joining TSI Network. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.