Earnings Preview for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

is on tap to report fiscal third-quarter 2011 results Tuesday, May 24, before the markets open. Analysts are looking for the purveyor of comfort food and nostalgia to report that earnings grew 7.6% from a year ago to $0.66 per share. That consensus earnings estimate is unchanged from 60 days ago. The revenue forecast for the quarter calls for $594.5 million, which is an increase of 2.8% from the same period of last year. Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel operates more than 590 full-service restaurants and gift shops in 41 states, most found along interstate highways and targeting hungry travelers. Founded in 1969, the company formerly known as CBRL Group changed its name in December 2008. In the third quarter, country music stars Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis released their newest CDs exclusively through Cracker Barrel stores. Looking ahead to the full year, analysts so far expect to see per-share earnings up 11.5% and revenue up 2.7% from a year ago. Note that analysts have underestimated Cracker Barrel's earnings per share in most of the past eight quarters. Cracker Barrel has a consensus Strong Buy rating and a mean price target of $62.57 per share. The stock bottomed at $47 in April and has risen about 11% since then to open today at $52.01. In the past three months, Cracker Barrel has outperformed the restaurant industry average and the broader markets.