News

Panera may be restarting buybacks

October 12, 2011

Shares of Panera Bread rose nearly 4 percent earlier this week, and an analyst told the Associated Press that the company may start buying back its own stock.

Panera may have restarted buybacks in the third quarter given the recent decline in the stock price, according to Nick Setyan of Wedbush Securities Inc. He said that Panera's average closing stock price was $115.77 in the third quarter compared with $122.15 in the second quarter.

From the story:

Panera's shares traded as high as $130 this summer before dropping to $96.68 in early August following its second-quarter earnings report that was overshadowed by a cautious 2012 outlook.

Setyan also anticipates that Panera will continue to build on its revenue at stores open at least a year. The analyst predicts that the figure will climb 4.5 percent in both the third and fourth quarters.

Setyan expects third-quarter earnings of 96 cents per share on revenue of $455 million.

Panera will report its third-quarter results on Oct. 25.

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