Weakening business-travel trends will likely hurt restaurant operator Morton's Restaurant Group Inc.'s upcoming results, an analyst said Tuesday.
Jefferies & Co. Inc. analyst Jeff Farmer said in a note to investors that about 80 percent of Morton's business comes from business customers _ more than double the percentage of many rival restaurant companies.
Hotel occupancy levels have declined on a year-over-year basis since November 2007, as business travel slows, Farmer wrote.
He expects the trend to continue in coming quarters, hurting Morton's same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least one year, a key retail metric, in fiscal 2009.
He initiated coverage of Chicago-based Morton's with a "Hold" rating and $7.50 price target.
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