CKE Restaurants Confident Despite Slide in Stock Price

CKE Restaurants Inc. affirmed its earnings outlook for the fiscal year ending next January in response to investor concern about its declining share price.

“We are extremely surprised by the significant downward movement of CKE’s stock,” Chairman and Chief Executive William Foley said in a statement. “The magnitude of the price adjustment bears no reasonable relation to our current fundamentals.”

CKE’s shares fell 22% on March 18 after it told analysts that its struggling Hardee’s chain would endure another quarter of declining sales at stores open at least a year. The shares have fallen 30% more since then, hitting a 52-week low of $12.63 during Monday’s session before rallying a bit to close at $13. The stock was unchanged on Tuesday.

The Anaheim-based company “remains confident about its operating and earnings prospects” for fiscal 2000, Foley said. CKE is expected to earn $1.76 a share in the year ending Jan. 25, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. It had net income of $1.45 a share a year earlier.