Lakes Entertainment Inc. Stock Upgraded (LACO)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Lakes Entertainment (Nasdaq:LACO) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, compelling growth in net income and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's revenue growth has not been good.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• The company, on the basis of net income growth from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly outperformed against the S&P 500 and exceeded that of the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry average. The net income increased by 31.5% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $1.38 million to $1.82 million.
• LAKES ENTERTAINMENT INC has improved earnings per share by 40.0% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. During the past fiscal year, LAKES ENTERTAINMENT INC continued to lose money by earning -$0.07 versus -$0.53 in the prior year.
• LACO, with its very weak revenue results, has greatly underperformed against the industry average of 9.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues plummeted by 66.7%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.
• Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. Compared to other companies in the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry and the overall market, LAKES ENTERTAINMENT INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

.

Lakes Entertainment, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, finances, and manages Indian owned casino properties. It has development and management or financing agreements with three separate tribes for casino operations in Michigan and California. Lakes Entertainment has a market cap of $65 million and is part of the services sector and leisure industry. Shares are up 29.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Lakes Entertainment Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet RatingsStaff

For more information on Lakes Entertainment Inc. click any of the following:

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Stock Price

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Earnings

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Growth Rates

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Balance Sheet

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Cash Flow

• Lakes Entertainment Inc. Income Statement