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S&P Equity Research Downgrades Select Restaurant Stocks Based on Valuation NEW YORK, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's equity analyst covering restaurant companies downgraded shares of several restaurants today, following a surge in share prices in recent weeks. A leading provider of independent investment research, ratings and indices, Standard & Poor's made this announcement through Standard & Poor's MarketScope, its real-time market intelligence service. "Many restaurant stocks have surged over the past several weeks, which we attribute to improving same-store sales trends," says Dennis Milton, Restaurants Analyst, Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services. "While we believe the restaurant industry is well positioned to benefit over the next several years from demographic trends that favor dining out, current valuations have caused us to revise our outlooks for several stocks. We are downgrading to "Hold" (*** out of *****) from "Accumulate" (**** out of *****) shares of Landry's Restaurants (NYSE:LNY) at $25.70 per share, Steak n Shake (NYSE:SNS) at $18.00 per share, and Bob Evans Farms (NASDAQ:BOBE) at $30.60 per share. We are also downgrading the shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) to "Avoid" (** out of *****) from "Hold" (*** out of *****) at $41.80 per share," concludes Milton. About Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS) Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), which was first introduced on December 31, 1986, reflects the opinions of Standard & Poor's equity analysts on the price appreciation potential of 1,200 U.S. stocks for the next 12 month period. Rankings range from five-STARS ("Buy") to one-STARS ("Sell"). About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services has the largest U.S. equity coverage count among equity research firms that are not affiliated with a Wall Street investment bank, analyzing 1,200 U.S. stocks. Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations. With 5000 employees located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/. The analyst quoted above is a Standard & Poor's equity analyst. He has no affiliation with any company referenced above. He has no ownership interest in any company referenced above. Standard & Poor's other affiliates may provide services to the companies that are the subject of this report. Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process. In this regard, STARS, which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, operates independently from, and has no access to information obtained by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which may in the course of its operations obtain access to confidential information. Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process. In this regard, STARS, which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, operates independently from, and has no access to information obtained by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, which may in the course of its operations obtain access to confidential information. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: John J. Piecuch Communications Manager +1-212-438-1102 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/

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