Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014

I never knew how expensive food could be until recently. After I graduated from college, I was going out and swiping a card to pay for meals like I always had. It didn't take long to realize that this was my actual money and not just my prepaid (by my parents) meal points I was spending. I was, literally, devouring my budget.

See Also: 5 Ways Supermarkets Trick Shoppers

But when I tried to spend less at restaurants and cook more at home, things didn't get a whole lot better. I was saving money on food, to be sure, but I was feeling far less energetic and gaining weight. As it turns out, a steady diet of Rice-a-Roni and spaghetti is filling and very cheap but not all that nutritious. I needed to find a way to eat healthily on my intern's salary, so I spoke with Sonya Angelone, a registered dietitian-nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Now, implementing some of her ideas, I'm maintaining my tight budget for groceries but getting more, healthier meals for my money ��and my clothes are fitting better. Thanks, Sonya.

5 Best Freight Stocks To Buy Right Now: DineEquity Inc (DIN)

DineEquity, Inc., incorporated on May 07, 1976, owns franchise and operate two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, (Applebee's), in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and International House of Pancakes (IHOP), in the family dining category of the restaurant industry. As of December 31, 2012, the franchise operations segment consisted of 2,011 restaurants operated by Applebee's franchisees in the United States, one United States territory and 15 foreign countries and 1,569 restaurants operated by IHOP franchisees and area licensees in the United States, two United States territories and five foreign countries. As of December 31, 2012, the Company restaurant operations segment consisted of 23 Applebee's Company-operated restaurants, 10 IHOP Company-operated restaurants and two IHOP restaurants reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis until refranchised. Financing operations revenue primarily consists of interest income from the financing of franchise fees and equipment leases, as well as sales of equipment associated with refranchised IHOP restaurants and a portion of franchise fees for restaurants taken back from franchisees not allocated to IHOP intellectual property. In October 2012, it completed the refranchising program and completed the transitioning to a 99% franchised restaurant system.

Applebee's

The Company develops, franchises and operates restaurants in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry under the name Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. As of December 31, 2012, 68 franchise groups operated 2,011 of these restaurants and 23 restaurants were Company-operated. The restaurants were located in 49 states, one United States territory and 15 countries outside of the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2012, 20 domestic franchise restaurants opened, six domestic franchise restaurants closed. 154 Company-operated! restaurants were franchised. The number of restaurants held by an individual franchisee ranges from one to 438 restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, it is focusing on international franchising primarily in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean/Middle East. As of December 31, 2012, there were 149 international Applebee's franchise restaurants. During 2012, 14 international franchise restaurants opened and 13 international franchise restaurants closed.

IHOP

The Company develops franchises and operates restaurants in the family dining category of the restaurant industry under the names IHOP and International House of Pancakes. As of December 31, 2012 there were a total of 1,581 IHOP restaurants of which 1,404 were subject to franchise agreements, 165 were subject to area license agreements, 10 were Company-operated restaurants and two restaurants were reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis. The Company owns and operates 10 IHOP restaurants in the Cincinnati market area primarily to test new remodel programs, operating procedures, products, technology, cooking platforms and service models. IHOP restaurants are located in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands and internationally in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. As of December 31, 2012, the area licensee for the state of Florida and certain counties in Georgia operated or sub-franchised a total of 152 IHOP restaurants, and the area licensees for the province of British Columbia, Canada operated or sub-franchised a total of 13 IHOP restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had signed commitments and options from franchisees to build 245 IHOP restaurants over the next 17 years, comprised of 5 restaurants under single-restaurant or non-traditional development agreements, 120 restaurants under multi-restaurant development agreements and 63 restaurants! under in! ternational development agreements. As of December 31, 2012, there were 1,525 domestic IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees and area licensees opened 40 domestic franchise restaurants and 17 domestic franchise and area license restaurants were closed. As of December 31, 2012, there were 44 international IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees opened eight international franchise restaurants and no restaurants were closed.

The Company competes with Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's, Denny's, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Bob Evans Restaurants.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  It is not unheard of for a smaller company in the restaurant space to acquire a larger peer, as evidenced by IHOP’s purchase of the much larger Applebee’s in 2007; the combined entity became DineEquity (DIN), and the deal was financed by a mix of debt (which [DineEquity] still is paying off) and proceeds from the sale of company-owned Applebee’s to franchisees. However, we view BH’s cash flow generation as not sufficient to cover any potential [Cracker Barrel] acquisition, and think Board members will scoff at the idea of selling off highly profitable company-owned sites to franchisees.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  DineEquity Inc. (NYSE: DIN) seems to be a likely winner if travelers will�be spending more. With some 3,600 Applebee’s�and IHOP restaurant chain locations offering meals for the “budget-minded but not fast food” crowd, the 15% sell-off from highs earlier in 2013 seems to be a possible gift now that its dividend yield is up at 4.5%. Analysts on average see upside of almost 20% for this restaurant chain.

• [By Victor Selva]

  As outlined in this article, the company underperformance in its core brands, Red Lobster and Olive Garden resulted in lower sales in the last quarter. Darden was not the only one facing trouble, other restaurants such as Dine Equity (DIN) and Yum! Brands (YUM) have also fallen short. On the other hand, we see we think Darden can continue to get benefitted from the acquisitions.

Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014: Sodexo SA (SW)

Sodexo SA, (formerly Sodexho Alliance SA), is a global provider of services in three primary business areas: The On-site Services Solutions offer various services that range from food services to construction management, reception to the maintenance of scanners and laboratory equipment, management of data centers, leisure cruises and provides housekeeping to rehabilitation services at correctional facilities. The Motivation Solutions division provides passes and vouchers, comprising Restaurant Pass, Gift Pass, Sport Pass, Training Voucher, Service Card and Book Card, among others. The Company also provides Personal and Home Services in the form of childcare, tutoring, concierge services and in-home service care facilities. The Company is present in 80 countries in a number of geographic areas, such as North America, South America, Continental Europe and United Kingdom and Ireland. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  Recently giant food conglomerate, Cargill announced it had partnered with the Swiss biosynthetic pharmaceutical company, Evolva (EVE:SW), to develop a more consistent and less expensive stevia sweetener via Evolva�� microbial fermentation-based process.� This is big news for the future of stevia because a microbial fermentation-based process does not have to rely on soil conditions or weather, and stevia can be manufactured anywhere, thus having the potential of guaranteeing an endless supply line of stevia.� Through the microbial fermentation, the manufacturer has the capability to process the key sweet individual components of stevia using low-cost plant sugars, and allows for the individual components of stevia, regardless of how minute, to be developed creating blends in any volume, which then could open the door for these manufacturers to fine-tune its stevia to local tastes.� But what would be most attractive is that, because the fermentation process does not require the entire plant, the method could conceivably shave upwards of 70% off the cost of producing stevia extracts.�

Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014: Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co Ltd (CCSC)

Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co., Ltd. (CSC Cayman), incorporated on August 14, 2007, is a quick service restaurant chain in China. The Company offers delicious, everyday Chinese food. The Company conducts all of its restaurant operations through CSC China and its subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2012, it had 256 restaurants, including 124 restaurants in Chongqing municipality and 85 restaurants in Sichuan province.

Chongqing municipality and Sichuan province cover a region of 110 million people in Southwest China. CSC Cayman directly operates all of its restaurants. Its standard menu features its main dishes prepared in the Sichuan style, as well as a selection of other dishes, appetizers, desserts and beverages. The Company periodically offers new dishes and seasonal menu selections.

The Company competes with McDonald��, KFC and Yoshinoya.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co., Ltd (NYSE:CCSC), a fast-growing quick service restaurant chain in China, plans to release its unaudited second quarter 2012 financial results on Tuesday, August 14, 2012, after the market closes.

Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014: Noodles & Co (NDLS)

Noodles & Company, incorporated on December 19, 2002, is a casual restaurant concept offering lunch and dinner. The Company offers noodle and pasta dishes, staples of many cuisines, with the goal of delivering fresh ingredients and flavors globally under one roof from Pad Thai to Mac & Cheese. The Company�� globally inspired menu includes a variety of cooked-to-order dishes, including noodles and pasta, soups, salads and sandwiches, which are served on china by its friendly team members.

As of May 28, 2013, including the 16 Company owned restaurants and one franchise restaurant opened in 2013. The Company opened 39 new company owned restaurants and six franchise restaurants. In 2012, the Company began using Your World Kitchen to describe the breadth of its offering and its customers' dining experience.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Fast and furious
  Upon its IPO several business days ago, Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS  ) stock rocketed up as if it were NASA reincarnated. The company, around since 1995, is 343 restaurants strong, with more on the way. Unsurprisingly, Noodles & Company sells mainly noodle-based dishes, but from different corners of the earth -- customers can opt for Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indonesian, and more. (Of course, all dishes are centered toward more Americanized versions of the ethnic foods.)

• [By Tamara Rutter]

  Take Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS  ) , for example. The fast-casual dining chain hit the public market running last month, with the stock's IPO more than doubling in value. This enthusiasm from investors seems promising until you consider that the stock now trades at nearly 430 times earnings. Yikes.

• [By Traders Reserve]

  I�� a big fan of Noodles & Co. (NDLS). I eat there often with my two young daughters.

  That said, how much pasta does the world need? I think many investors compare Noodles to Chipotle. They are not the same. In fact, if the country figures out that we need less pasta and not more, Noodles & Co. could be in big trouble. The company reports earnings on Wednesday after the market closes.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The 24/7 Wall St. list of public companies expected to double sales in the next few years includes the following: Kona Grill Inc. (NASDAQ: KONA), LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD),�Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ: NDLS),�Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX),�Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS),�Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR),�Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA),�Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA),�Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) and Yelp Inc.�(NYSE: YELP). Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)�might as well be considered a runner-up here, but it was a direct competitor of LinkedIn in the selections.

Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014: Ignite Restaurant Group Inc (IRG)

Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc., incorporated on February 4, 2002, operates two restaurant brands, Joe's Crab Shack (Joe's) and Brick House Tavern + Tap (Brick House). The Company�� Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern + Tap operate in a diverse set of markets across the United States. Joe's Crab Shack is a national chain of casual seafood restaurants serving a variety of seafood items, with an emphasis on crab. Brick House Tavern + Tap is a casual restaurant brand that provides guests a gastro pub experience by offering a blend of menu items. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned and operated 144 restaurants in 33 states. In September 2013, Ignite Restaurant Group Inc announced the opening of its newest Joe's Crab Shack restaurant, located in Newark, New Jersey.

Joe's Crab Shack

The Company�� Joe's Crab Shack offers an outdoor patio for guests to enjoy eating and drinking and a children's playground. Joe's also has many locations that are located on waterfront property. Interior design elements include a nautical, vacation theme to invoke memories of beach vacations and a genuine crab shack experience. Joe's Crab Shack restaurants have over 200 seats. Many of the Company�� restaurants also include a small gift shop where guests can purchase souvenirs to commemorate their dining experience. Joe's Crab Shack also leverages its crab-forward menu with other crab items, including Made-From-Scratch Crab Cakes, Crab Nachos and Crazy-Good Crab Dip. In addition to its core crab-focused menu, Joe's also offers a range of entrees featuring a variety of seafood, including the Get Stuffed Snapper, Surf 'N Turf Burger and The Big Hook Up, as well as a range of traditional seafood entrees like the Fisherman's Platter. Joe's also offers several out of water options, such as Pan Fried Cheesy Chicken and Whiskey Smoked Ribs. In addition, alcoholic beverages include the Shark Bite, Category 5 Hurricane and Mason Jar cocktails emerging as guests' top choices. Joe's menu inc! ludes more than 29 items made with either Queen, Snow, Dungeness or King Crabs sourced from government regulated and sustainable fisheries. Its menu offers 14 appetizers, including Made-From-Scratch Crab Cakes, Crab Nachos and Crazy-Good Crab Dip, and over 50 entrees, including Steampots, Crab in a Bucket, Skillet Paella, Stuffed Snapper and out of water options like Whiskey Smoked Ribs.

Brick House Tavern + Tap

The Company�� Brick House's interior decor includes custom lighting, dark mahogany woods, open sight lines, high definition television (HD TVs), and an inviting fireplace. In addition to a traditional dining room and bar area, Brick House also offers large communal tables and a section of leather recliners positioned in front of large HD TVs, where guests receive their own TV tray for dining. Outdoor seating is also available on the patio or around an open fire pit at nearly all locations. Both food and beverages are served by personable and engaging service staff. The typical Brick House restaurant is approximately 8,500 square feet and averages approximately 250 seats, which includes both traditional tables and seating options. Brick House offers its guests a selection of contemporary tavern food. Brick House's menu includes 17 appetizers and over 53 entrees. Handcrafted appetizers include Deviled Eggs, Meatloaf Sliders, Brick Pizza, Meat and Cheese Board and Fried Stuffed Olives. Brick House offers an array of burgers, including The Kobe, which is hand formed from American Wagyu beef. Guests can also choose from a selection of homemade entrees, such as Drunken Chops, BBQ Baby Backs, Chicken & Waffles, and its Prime Rib Sandwich. In addition, Brick House's Brick Burgers, include the Gun Show Burger and the Black & Bleu Burger. Brick House's beverage selection includes imported and domestic beers along with hand-pulled cask beer. All Brick House restaurants have a bar that supports a variety of liquor drinks, wine and beer cocktails like the Shandy and Bee Sting, a! s well as! specialty cocktails like the Dark & Stormy, Moscow Mule and The Zombie.

The Company competes with Red Lobster, Bonefish Grill, Landry's Seafood, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, BJ's Restaurants, Yard House, Cheesecake Factory, Bravo Brio and Buffalo Wild Wings, Applebee's, Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  The firm is currently Zacks Rank # 3 - Hold, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��nderperfom.��For investors looking for a Zacks Rank # 1 ��Strong Buy, Ignite Restaurant Group Inc. (IRG) and The Wendy's Company (WEN) could be the options.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more Ignite Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: IRG  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Ignite Restaurant Group's competitive position could be.

Best Restaurant Companies To Invest In 2014: Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW)

Burger King Worldwide, Inc., incorporated on April 2, 2012, is a fast food hamburger restaurant, under the Burger King brand. The Company generates revenues from three sources: franchise revenues, consisting primarily of royalties based on a percentage of sales reported by franchise restaurants and fees paid by franchisees; property income from properties that it leases or subleases to franchisees, and retail sales at Company restaurants. In September 2012, it sold 41 Company-owned BURGER KING restaurants in Singapore to Rancak Selera Sdn Bhd. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or franchised a total of 12,997 restaurants in 86 countries and United States territories. In April 2013, it announced the sale of Burger King Restaurants of Canada (BKRC), including 94 Company owned BURGER KING restaurants in the Canada market to Redberry Investments Corp.

The Company operates in the FFHR category of the quick service restaurant (QSR), segment of the restaurant industry. In the United States, the QSR segment is the segment of the restaurant industry and has demonstrated steady growth over a long period of time. The Company launched four new menu platforms (salads, wraps, smoothies and desserts) and expanded its chicken, coffee and ancillary menu platforms. It has established a data driven marketing process, which is focused on driving restaurant sales and traffic, while targeting a broader consumer base with more inclusive messaging to reach women, parties with children and seniors.

United States and Canada (U.S. and Canada)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 7,293 franchise restaurants and 183 Company restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company refranchised 752 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, bringing the region to 98% franchised. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it also continued to implement its Four Pillars strategy to improve comparable sales growth and franchise profitability by enhancing its Menu, Marke! ting Communications, Image, and Operations.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 2,989 franchise restaurants and 132 Company restaurants in EMEA. While in Germany continues with 684 restaurants as of December 31, 2012, Turkey and Russia are two of its growing markets with net openings of 78 restaurants and 47 restaurants, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,290 franchise and 100 Company restaurants in LAC. In 2011, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Vinci Partners for Brazil and granted franchise and development rights to the joint venture. The Company received a minority stake and board seats in the joint venture without deploying its own capital.

Asia Pacific (APAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,007 franchise and 3 Company restaurants in APAC. As of December 31, 2012,the Company had 357 restaurants in Australia. It contributed 44 Company restaurants in China. In September 2012, the Company sold 38restaurants to Rancak Selera, the Burger King franchisee in Malaysia.

The Company competes with McDonald�� Corporation, Wendy�� Company, Carl�� Jr., Jack in the Box and Sonic.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Goodboy]

  I was pleasantly surprised that a Dunkin' Donuts I recently visited in South Carolina offered free Wi-Fi, a lounge area full of leather chairs, a variety of coffee flavors, sandwiches and, of course, donuts that are vastly superior to Starbucks' offerings. During my travels recently, I have noticed Dunkin' Donuts sprouting up in the same general areas as established Starbucks locations. This strategy resembles Burger King's (NYSE: BKW) pursuit of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) locations.

• [By Neha Marwah]

  Both China and India are emerging markets where the middle income group is growing, getting busier by the day and opting for eateries to satiate their hunger. These two budding economies are the key to Yum!�� growth in the future. The fast food restaurant giant expects to have around 1,000 restaurants in India by the end of 2015. The fast food giant has plans to invest $10 billion in emerging markets to tak maximum advantage of the growth. Yum! is not the only quick service restaurant chain eying budding economies. Fellow players McDonald��, Starbucks, Burger King (BKW) also have massive plans for expanding in these markets.

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  They have, from literally a $50 million tiny little third-tier brewer in Brazil, in 20 years they built the world's largest brewer. Then they took over Burger King� (NYSE: BKW  ) , and then they've just partnered up with Buffett to buy Heinz in a $23 billion deal, last year.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images The Rolling Stones may have sung about not getting any satisfaction, but now Burger King (BKW) patrons can't get any Satisfry-action. The burger chain announced last week that it was discontinuing the relatively healthier french fries. It was easy to see why the crinkle-cut fries were doomed. Satisfries may have had an interesting marketing angle -- they were promoted as having 40 percent less fat and 30 percent fewer calories than a comparably sized McDonald's (MCD) fries -- but charging 30 cents more for an order than Burger King's own regular shoestring spuds was a deal breaker. Despite the slightly healthier attributes, it was a value proposition that didn't resonate with Burger King's penny-pinching customers. Burger King may have served up 100 million orders of Satisfries since they were introduced late last year, but it wasn't enough. Then again, seeing how other fast food giants have fared in rolling out ill-fated healthier fare, the only real surprise is that Burger King tried at all. Seaweed Burgers and Shaking Salads Outside of perhaps Subway -- which has set itself apart on its "eat fresh" mantra and healthier sandwiches, wraps and salads -- it's been hard for any major quick-service chain to establish itself as a place for nutrition table watchers. The failures have been plenty. Let's start with Burger's King's biggest rival. McDonald's introduced the McLean Deluxe in 1991. True to the "lean" in its name, the McLean Deluxe was a reduced-fat burger, made with 91 percent lean beef and an edible red seaweed extract. Taste tests went well, and McDonald's received critical praise for offering a slightly healthier menu option for burger lovers. It didn't succeed. McDonald's nixed it five years later. Another McDonald's attempt to woo health-conscious diners was the McShaker salad that was served in an enclosed plastic cup that diners would shake to mix up. It was another flop, but largely on logistics of the experience. T