SCOTTSDALE Ariz. Kona Grill Inc., parent to the 18-unit grill and sushi-bar chain based, said Tuesday that its board of directors approved the repurchase of as many as 600,000 shares, or about 9 percent of its common stock.
The company had about 6.6 million shares outstanding as of its latest quarter. There was no time frame given for the repurchases, which Kona said would be made on the open market. News of the buyback plan sent Kona’s stock up more than 11 percent in trading on Tuesday, to close at $8.96. Kona’s stock has a 52-week range of between $7.71 per share and $20.30 per share, which it hit almost a year ago in May 2007.
Marcus E. Jundt, chief executive and president of Kona Grill, said the buyback plan “represents the board’s confidence in our company’s future.”
The company also said it would report first-quarter financial results on April 30.
Kona Grill owns and operates restaurants in Scottsdale and Chandler, Ariz.; Denver; Stamford, Conn.; Naples, Fla.; Lincolnshire and Oak Brook, Ill.; Carmel, Ind.; Baton Rouge, La.; Troy, Mich.; Kansas City, Mo.; Omaha, Neb.; Las Vegas; and Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Sugar Land, Texas.