Mid-Tier Restaurants Feeling The Economic Squeeze

Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary (get it e-mailed to you every morning by signing up here):

TRACKING THE NUMBERS: Midprice Restaurants Feel Pinch

• Summary: While high-end and low-end restaurants have recently done well, the mid-tier eateries have struggled and their stock prices have begun to reflect it. The Journal's research indicates that, due to high gas prices and other factors, the typical customer of such outlets has recently chosen to stay home or downgrade to fast food. The companies in focus here include family-dining restaurant chains like CKE Restaurants (CKR) , Papa John's (PZZA) , Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Applebee's International (APPB), Ruth's Chris Steak House (RUTH), OSI Restaurant Partners (OSI), and P.F. Chang's China Bistro (PFCB)
• Comment on related stocks/ETFs: The PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ) is quite heavily invested in this sector. For a report on how McDonald's and other low-tier retaurants should fare in the near future, see Outlook for Fast Food Stocks in This Slowing Economy from Investopedia Advisor.