Steak N Shake Shares Soar After Sales Report

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of restaurant chain Steak n Shake Co. soared Thursday after the company said its sales at established locations rose 1.8 percent for its fiscal second quarter to date.

Shares jumped $1.26, or 22.7 percent, to $6.81 in heavy afternoon trading.

Before the market opened, the company also said its customer traffic had climbed more than 6 percent so far in the period, which ends April 8.

The rise in sales and traffic was a turnaround from a difficult first quarter, when the slowdown in the economy led to lower same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, declining traffic and a quarterly loss. In 2008, the company reported a loss in every quarter, at times blaming itself for a lack of execution.

CL King analyst Michael Gallo said in a note to investors that it's still too early to say whether the company has turned a corner, but "it does demonstrate that business is at least starting to stabilize following years of decline."

Gallo has a "Neutral" rating on the stock.