IHOP's Strengths

I was hard-pressed to find any weaknesses that IHOP might have, but I did come up with some strengths: They have many "product lines." Don't let their name fool you, they have a lot more to offer than just pancakes. They have broad market coverage - there are restaurants in all 50 states, and in Canada and Mexico. Their marketing skills are good (have you seen their commercials?). Everyone knows that IHOP has the best pancakes. They also have many diverse ways in which they serve pancakes; in other words, they know how to keep people coming back. That is related to brand name reputation as well. People know that when they go there, they expect a delicious meal. And they get it!

Share Price update

Shares of DineEquity are Moving Higher on 1x Above-Average Volume (DIN)

Written on Thu, 09/23/2010 - 2:12pm

By Chip Brian

Shares of DineEquity (NYSE:DIN) are trading up 2.8% to $41.71 today on above average volume. Approximately 271,000 shares have traded hands today vs. average 30-day volume of 269,000 shares.
Spikes in volume can validate a breakout or signify a potential turning point. As such, SmarTrend will continue to monitor shares of DIN to see if this bullish momentum will continue.
SmarTrend is bullish on shares of DineEquity and our subscribers were alerted to buy on September 02, 2010 at $35.82. The stock has risen 16.4% since the alert was issued.

DineEquity - Mission

I have looked and looked, and it appears that DineEquity has no mission statement. They have set goals, objectives, and have a "Vision and Values" statement, (I blogged about these in my Chapter 2 blog) yet they remain quiet on their mission. Therefore, I will attempt to come up with one. "Our mission is to serve a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner, day or night, to every customer at a great price." I think that sums up who they are, what they do, and why they are here.

IHOP on Facebook

IHOP has a great facebook page. If you visit their page (http://www.facebook.com/IHOP), you will see that they have nearly 148,000 fans (as of now). They have fun little activities to do - like "disguise your mug" - and you can sign up for promotions. Right now, if you sign up for their club, you'll get a free meal for signing up, a free meal on your birthday, and a free meal on the first anniversary of signing up. Sounds too good to pass up! Check it out next time you're on Facebook.

Share Price update

DineEquity had a drop today to 40.70, which is down 0.58, or (-1.41%).

DineEquity's Relative Performance...

DineEquity is Among the Companies in the Restaurants Industry With the Best Relative Performance (DIN, CAKE, TXRH, EAT, RT)

Written on Tue, 09/14/2010 - 6:21am

By Chip Brian

Below are the top five companies in the Restaurants industry as measured by relative performance. This analysis was compiled based on yesterday's trading activity as we search for stocks that have the potential to outperform.
DineEquity (NYSE:DIN) ranks first with a gain of 4.62%; Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) ranks second with a gain of 3%; and Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) ranks third with a gain of 2.9%.
Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) follows with a gain of 2.56% and Ruby Tuesday (NYSE:RT) rounds out the top five with a gain of 2.32%.
SmarTrend is bullish on shares of EAT and our subscribers were alerted to Buy on July 13, 2010 at $15.75. The stock has risen 17% since the alert was issued.

Share Price update

DIN finished at 42.38, up 1.87 (4.62%).

Chapter 4 Observations

In these not-so-great economic times we are in, IHOP has been able to stay steady by offering great promotions. When school started back up, IHOP announced that "Kids eat free" for the entire month of August (certain conditions apply of course). Although this may seem like a crazy idea, this is a great way to keep IHOP on everyone's minds when back-to-school-spending occurs. They hope that word-of-mouth will create enough business to cover the costs of the promotion.

Last year, IHOP offered "All you can eat pancakes", also known as the "2009 Hungry Consumer Relief Plan." This marketing tactic drew in more consumers who could relate to the unstable economic conditions.

In these economic conditions, more people are not getting out to the restaurants when they can save money by cooking at home. However, IHOP keeps people coming back for more by offering great promotions.

IHOP has a distinctive competence in creating innovative pancakes. There are a flurry to choose from. No other restaurant can compare to what IHOP brings with pancakes.

Trading Higher on Heavy Volume

Trading Higher on Heavy Volume are Shares of DineEquity on 1.1x Above-Average Volume (DIN)

(via COMTEX News Network)--


Shares of DineEquity (NYSE: DIN) are trading up 4.4% to $38.51 today on above average volume. Approximately 332,000 shares have traded hands today vs. average 30-day volume of 294,000 shares.



Spikes in volume can validate a breakout or signify a potential turning point. As such, SmarTrend will continue to monitor shares of DIN to see if this bullish momentum will continue.



SmarTrend is bullish on shares of DineEquity and our subscribers were alerted to buy on September 02, 2010 at $35.82. The stock has risen 7.5% since the alert was issued.

Share Price

As of right now, DIN is trading at 37.17, which is down 1.60 (-4.13%).

Chapter 3 Observations

IHOP and Applebee's face a number of rivals (IHOP: Cracker Barrel, Denny's, Bob Evan's; Applebee's: Rafferty's, Outback). With the number of rivals, these restaurants have to continuously keep coming up with new ways to keep their customers coming back to them. They can do this by differentiating their products, or by price adjustments (special offers, discounts). Both restaurants do this everyday. IHOP with their "Tooty Fruity" and Applebee's with their "2 for 20."

It appears that the rivalry is quite high in this industry. There are always specials and commercails being played that help differentiate their products. This means they are always thinking of ways to keep or steal customers. If you "fall asleep" you could lose your customer base.

Buyers have relatively high power. Their switching costs are low to eat somewhere else.

The substitutes vary: there are similar style restaurants (Bob Evans), and there are different style restaurants (McDonalds), and lastly, people can just eat at home (grocery stores). Therefore, differentiation and prices can be very important.

DineEquity is Efficiency Leader

DineEquity has the Highest Level of Efficiency in the Restaurants Industry (DIN, SONC, RUTH, CHUX, NATH)
Written on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 5:30am

By Chip Brian

Below are the top five most-efficient companies in the Restaurants industry as ranked by Revenue Per Employee (RPE). Analysts use RPE as a measure to compare the productivity of companies in the same industry.

DineEquity (NYSE:DIN) ranks first with an RPE of $2.13M; Sonic (NASDAQ:SONC) ranks second with an RPE of $1.62M; and Ruth's Hospitality (NASDAQ:RUTH) ranks third with an RPE of $0.73M.

O'Charley's (NASDAQ:CHUX) follows with an RPE of $0.42M and Nathan's Famous (NASDAQ:NATH) rounds out the top five with an RPE of $0.24M.

SmarTrend is bullish on shares of NATH and our subscribers were alerted to Buy on August 10, 2009 at $13.80. The stock has risen 12.1% since the alert was issued

Source: www.mysmartrend.com/news-briefs/news-watch/dineequity-has-highest-level-efficiency-restaurants-industry-din-sonc-ruth-ch

Jump in Share Price

DineEquity had a nice boost today:

38.02, +3.82 (11.17%)