Ruth's Chris Steak House Up in IPO (Repub company alert!) [View All]

[JohnLocke]

Ruth's Chris Steak House Up in Initial Public Offering
Associated Press
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
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WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) - Ruth's Chris Steak House Inc. served up a sizzling serving of stock Tuesday, its first day of trading.
The shares of Ruth's Chris rose to close at $20.70 Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Metairie, La., restaurant chain priced 13 million shares at $18 a share, above the expected range of $15 to $17.
Besides its name recognition, Ruth's rising financials - revenue rose 14.6 percent last year and operating income climbed 50.6 percent from the year earlier - helped draw investor interest.
The company is using the proceeds from the offering to pay off debt and to add five to six new restaurants a year for the next several years.
Steakhouse chains have had mixed performances in recent years. Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc., which went public in 2001 at $8.50 a share, closed Monday at $5.96. Texas Roadhouse Inc., on the other hand, has done well since its debut in October, doubling its IPO price of $17.50 a share to $35.91 at Monday's close.
Ruth's Chris is the largest restaurant IPO since Domino's Pizza Inc. went public in July 2004, and the first restaurant IPO to price above its expected range since last October's Texas Roadhouse, according to Thomson Financial.
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Ruth's Chris Steak House is notorious for supporting Republicans and right-wing causes. They're a major supporter of the "Center for Consumer Freedom," a front group for gigantic food, tobacco, and alcohol corporations. William L. Hyde, Jr. of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was a member of the CCF's advisory panel at one point, and the company's president and chief executive, Craig Miller, is the vice chairman of the National Restaurant Association, another industry group. They also paid for an endorsement from Sean Hannity.