Ruby Tuesday Rockets Higher After Beating Top Line Estimates

Shares of Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) have rocketed 10.2 percent higher to $6.57 after the company reported third quarter earnings.EPS came in at $(0.07), inline with analyst estimates, but beat revenue estimates of $284.61 million, reporting $295.6 million. Revenues decreased 3.8 percent year over year.Same-restaurant sales decreased 1.9 percent at Company-owned Ruby Tuesday restaurants and decreased 2.2 percent at domestic Ruby Tuesday franchise restaurants compared to the same quarter of the prior year. Same-restaurant guest counts were down 1.7 percent for the quarter, reflecting an improvement over the second quarter decline of 6.3 percent.During the quarter, 24 Company-owned Ruby Tuesday restaurants were closed. Domestic and international franchisees opened two and closed two Ruby Tuesday restaurants. One Company-owned Lime Fresh restaurant was closed during the quarter. Franchisees did not open or close any Lime Fresh restaurants.Chief Executive Officer, James J. Buettgen, said the company “continues to make progress on the four primary touch points of our strategy: menu, service, atmosphere, and communication, and we have made advances on key initiatives as we work to reposition the brand as more energetic, affordable, and broadly-appealing.”