The Habit Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: HABT)
The Habit Restaurants, Inc. (HABT), a restaurant company announced positive third quarter 2015 financial results on Wednesday. Total Revenue was $58.6 million which was up $11.6 million from previous years third quarter. Net Income increased to $2.2 million up from $2.1 million in third quarter 2014. Adjusted EBITDA was $6.8 million, up $1 million from third quarter 2014.
The Habit Restaurants, Inc. CEO Comments
“Our 47th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth is a great accomplishment for the Company. Our culture of putting our guest first and being highly focused on operations has resulted in our ability to grow comp-store sales consistently over a very long period of time,” said Russ Bendel, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Habit Restaurants, Inc. “This quarter we opened seven new company-operated Habit Burger Grills, including our second location in Florida and three franchised/licensed locations. We continue to expect to open between 26 and 28 company-operated locations in 2015 and expect to open between 30 and 32 company-operated stores in 2016.” Globe Newswire
HABT Technical Analysis
HABT gapped up in price yesterday to $27.30, up from the prior day’s close of $24.77, which is a 10% increase on the favorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see the last time HABT traded above this price level was on August 5th, when it closed at $28.64. Taking a further look back on the chart, we can see HABT has been on an overall decline dating back to May 21st when it traded at $39.36. More recently, HABT has bounced off its 52 week low price of $20.66 which was reached on September 30th. HABT has a low float of 10.74 million shares and is trading over 2 times the normal daily trading volume. HABT did reach pre market highs of $27.75, but gave back $0.45 at the open, or equivalent to 2%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $27.40 looking for a run to $28. My stop loss would have been $27.25, fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
The Habit Restaurants, Inc., incorporated on July 24, 2014, is a fast-casual restaurant company. The Company is specialized in preparing char-grilled burgers and sandwiches featuring tri-tip steak, grilled chicken and sushi-grade albacore tuna cooked over an open flame. In addition, it offers salads, sides, shakes and malts. The Company prepares its burgers with char-grilled preparation, topped with caramelized onions, melted cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. As of December 30, 2014, the Company had 110 locations in 10 markets in four states. The Company operates a variety of restaurant formats, including end-cap, free-standing, inline and drive-thru, primarily within suburban shopping centers and retail settings. The Company competes with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread Company, Panda Express, In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys Burger and Fries, and Smashburger. Reuters
