Popeyes Shares Up 13%+ On Q1 Results, Strong Outlook

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc

popped more than 13 percent after the nation's third-largest fried chicken chain posted a strong first quarter and boosted its outlook for the remainder of 2014. "We think the long-term guidance is conservative," Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan, who expects the company to grow the number of company owned stores at the fastest rate in the industry. Wedbush boosted its price target to $48 from $46 and maintained an outperform rating. Total sales in the recent quarter grew nearly 11 percent in the period while adjusted earnings jumped 15 percent to 46 cents a share, beating the Wall Street consensus by a penny. Sales in stores open more than a year grew 4.5 percent. Full-year guidance now includes same-store sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent, up from a previous 2 to 3 percent, while the outlook for adjusted earnings now calls for $1.58 to $1.63 a share, up a penny from the company's earlier estimate. Wall Street expects $1.62. Chief Executive Cheryl Bachelder said the performance came in spite of bad weather, and included gains in market share as well as higher profitability. Popeyes traded recently at $43.20, up more than 13 percent.