Stephens analyst Will Slabaugh kept his Overweight rating and $36 price target on Red Robin after its announced CEO transition and pre-announced Q1 comps down 3.6% - a bigger decline than down 1.4% consensus. The analyst notes the company has attributed about 100-150bps of the comps decline to unfavorable weather, but also sees the outlook as a "continuation of soft dine-in traffic." Slabaugh adds that Red Robin is trading at "below recessionary levels" and its stock will likely need "sustainable top-line improvement" to generate investor interest, but at current levels, he sees its optionality warranting an Overweight rating.

Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Red Robin with a Buy rating and $20 price target.