It Now Pays to Hold This Hidden Restaurant Gem

Since recommending shares of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: BAGL) back at the end of September, the results have been tasty. The stock has appreciated more than 30%, and even more importantly, the company continues to show investors that it has put the troubled time of the recession behind it. When I last discussed the stock, I expressed reservations about the company's balance sheet, but the company has continued to successfully deleverage and on Tuesday announced it would be reinstating a dividend with an initial 12.5-cent quarterly payout. The dividend will yield about 3.8%, which sounds like some pretty delicious dough. While this certainly sends a good signal about management's confidence in the business, let's take a look at the company's performance over the last few months, and some of the challenges it faces in 2011.... Read more