Applebees, IHOP Losing Steam On Social Media

Investors hoping for a bounce-back in DineEquity Inc DIN’s share price are facing some strong headwinds at the moment. In addition to generally weak trends in the restaurant business, the latest data from TickerTags indicates declining social media buzz related to two of DineEquity’s top brands.

TickerTags monitors social media sites to identify trends by searching for words or phrases that appear together in social media content, such as tweets.

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Despite the fact that DineEquity’s revenue has declined 42 percent in the past five years, the stock’s share price is up 100.4 percent in that time. However, since early 2015, DineEquity has been trending in the wrong direction.

Organic Twitter mentions of IHOP and Applebees are down 35 percent and 18 percent year-over-year, respectively so far in Q3. The latest numbers are a continuation of the negative 2016 trend for both restaurants. IHOP and Applebees Twitter mentions are now down 42 percent and 26 percent, respectively, year-to-date.

Despite the negative trends on social media, KeyBanc believes a turnaround is imminent for DineEquity’s stock. Earlier this month, the firm upgraded DineEquity from Sector Weight to Overweight.

So far this year DineEquity’s stock is down 5.4 percent. DineEquity’s Q3 earnings are expected to come in early November.