Some Restaurant Stocks Need To Go On a Diet - Barron's (CMG, BJRI, PNRA, RRGB)

A Barron's article this weekend suggests that some restaurant stocks are bloated and may need to go on a diet.

Specifically, the article said Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), BJ's Restaurants (Nasdaq: BJRI), Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (Nasdaq: RRGB) trade at an average multiple of 30x 2011 consensus earnings estimates, versus an industry average of 19x.

Morningstar restaurant analyst R.J. Hottovy said the valuation are "getting ahead of themselves" and "expectations that are unrealistic."

Barron's said looking at the 6% sell-off in Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) last week on disappointing results illustrating how vulnerable restaurant stocks could be to disappointment in the coming year.

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