P.F. Chang's China Bistro Earnings Preview

P.F. Chang's China Bistro (Nasdaq: PFCB  ) came in under analyst's estimates last quarter, but now has a chance to fix things this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Oct. 27. P.F. Chang's China Bistro owns and operates restaurant concepts in the Asian niche.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on P.F. Chang's China Bistro with 11 of 21 analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like P.F. Chang's China Bistro as much as competitor Bravo Brio Restaurant Group overall. Seven out of seven analysts rate Bravo Brio Restaurant Group a buy compared to seven of 21 for P.F. Chang's China Bistro.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $303.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 1.6% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.32 per share. Estimates range from $0.27 to $0.41.

What our community says:
The majority of CAPS All-Stars see P.F. Chang's China Bistro as a good bet, with 56.6% granting it an "outperform" rating. The majority of Fools are in agreement with the All-Stars, with 59.7% giving it an "outperform" rating. Fools have embraced P.F. Chang's China Bistro and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 135 posts in the past 30 days. P.F. Chang's China Bistro's bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
P.F. Chang's China Bistro's profit has risen year over year by an average of 20.9% over the past five quarters. Over the last four quarters, revenue has increased 0.8% on average year over year.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
Gross Margin	16.8%	17.4%	18.7%	18.8%
Operating Margin	3.9%	4.8%	5.9%	4.8%
Net Margin	2.9%	3.3%	4.7%	3.4%

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