Denny’s (DENN, Financial) is an iconic casual dining chain with approximately 1,500 franchises and 160 company-owned restaurants. The company came across our contrarian screens repeatedly during years of decline under a series of previous management teams. We invested in 2011 when strong new management took over with a coherent turnaround plan. Denny’s made solid progress, stabilizing the business with menu and marketing improvements and using solid free-cash flow to pay down debt, repurchase shares and fund a successful restaurant remodel program, though sales growth remained subdued. An inflection point came in 2014 as sales improved significantly, aided by lower gas prices that alleviated pressure on Denny’s core customer. This is a trend that accelerated through the remainder of the year and has held up in 2015. We remain shareholders though we reduced our position significantly due to the rise in the stock.
From Meridian Growth Fund’s annual letter.
