Shares of restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ: CBRL) were down 17.5% in December, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company started the month off by reporting financial results that displeased the market. However, later in the month, some analysts started circling the wagons on what now may be a deep value stock.

On Dec. 2, Cracker Barrel reported financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2023, which showed profitability problems. Q1 revenue was up 7% year over year and management is forecasting 6% to 8% growth for the year. But the market is rightly concerned about profits in an inflationary environment.

Q1 net income was down 49% year over year for Cracker Barrel, mostly due to wage inflation and food inflation. Management has raised menu prices to compensate. But for fiscal 2023, it still believes that its operating margin will only be about 4%. For perspective, it was 4.7% in fiscal 2022.

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Source Fool.com