Investing.com -- Shares in Sonic, the nation's largest chain of drive-in restaurants, edged higher in after hours trading after the company doubled earnings per share for the second fiscal quarter of 2015.
Net income per diluted share was $0.14 for the quarter, according to Sonic, compared with $0.07 per diluted share on a year-over-year basis. In addition, same-store sales at Sonic increased by 11.5% for the quarter and the company's drive-in margin improved by 110 basis points.
"Successful company initiatives combined with an improving macro environment resulted in an exceptionally strong second fiscal quarter with 11.5% same-store sales growth. We are particularly pleased that traffic drove two-thirds of our same-store sales increase," said Cliff Hudson, Sonic Corp. CEO. "This increase is primarily a result of growth in our core menu items and product innovation, complemented by our national media strategy. As we move into the second half of fiscal 2015 we expect our business momentum to continue."
Shares in Sonic rose 0.25% or 0.09 points in after hours trading to 36.75. Earlier on Tuesday, Sonic gained 2.83% or 1.01 to 36.66.
In recent weeks, a number of analysts have given the Oklahoma City-based chain restaurant a favorable rating. Oppenheimer set a $38 price target for Sonic in early-March, while Zacks has upgraded it from a "neutral" to "outperform" stock.
As of fiscal year 2013, Sonic had more than 3,500 restaurants nationwide combining for more than $3.8 billion in sales.