CHUY, HABT Stephens

The outlook following the second day of the ICRX Change conference public company presentations remains "selectively optimistic" within the restaurant sector by Stephens. Stephens' report on Thursday noted that several overarching themes were the same (low-end consumer, prominence of value promotions, labor pressures, food cost favorability, etc), however the firm noted company-specific highlights which may indicate outperformance for both near and longer term ahead of 4Q earnings season. Among the firm's "favorite" names from the conference were Chuy's Holdings Inc

and Habit Restaurants Inc

. Stephens issued a PT of $35.99 for Chuy's Holdings On Monday, Director Michael Roger Young sold 1,000 shares of Chuy's Holdings stock in a transaction. The company's last earnings results were on Tuesday, November 3rd. Chuy's Holdings reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. Stephens issued a PT of $22.82 for HABT HABT shares traded higher 0.26 percent during midday trading Wednesday, reaching $22.88. The company currently has a market capitalization of $314.81 million and a PE ratio of 120.42. Emerging innovations and rapid change have been affecting the restaurant industry. Today, maintaining a premium valuation requires being on-trend with the consumer. Companies must have a reputable unit growth plan as well which addresses a real market opportunity for investors.