Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

– Total Revenues Increased 9.6% –

– Earnings Per Share Up 28.1% –

WINTER PARK, Fla.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—August 10, 2018—Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: RUTH) today reported unaudited financial results for its second quarter ended July 1, 2018.  

Highlights for the second quarter of 2018 were as follows:

Michael P. O'Donnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc., noted, “I am pleased with our second quarter results, which reflect the strength and consistency of our business.  Financial results included revenue growth of 9.6%, comparable restaurant sales growth of 1.3%, and restaurant level margin expansion.  Our Hawaiian restaurants are steadily achieving sales and profits ahead of our expectations, and we are in the final stages of a successful integration.”

O’Donnell continued, “I am incredibly proud of the team we have assembled here at Ruth’s Hospitality Group and of our many accomplishments over the last 10 years.  The Company is well-positioned for continued success, due in large part to initiatives designed and implemented by Cheryl Henry, our new Chief Executive Officer.  I remain extremely confident in the future of the Company, and look forward to supporting Cheryl in my new role as Executive Chairman.”    

Review of Second Quarter 2018 Operating Results

Total revenues in the second quarter of 2018 were $109.6 million, an increase of 9.6% compared to $100.0 million in the second quarter of 2017.  

Company-owned Sales

Franchise Income

Operating Expenses

Development Update

The Company expects to open two new restaurants during the balance of 2018.  The first in Jersey City, NJ in the third quarter and another in Paramus, NJ in the fourth quarter.  Additionally, a restaurant operating under a management agreement in Reno, NV is expected to open early in the first quarter of 2019.

Franchise partners opened one new restaurant and expect to open another new restaurant in 2018.  The first in Fort Wayne, IN opened during the second quarter on May 7^th, and another in Markham, Ontario is expected to open in the fourth quarter.  

Share Repurchase and Debt

The Company repurchased 224,605 shares during the second quarter of 2018, for approximately $5.9 million or $26.46 per share.  At the end of the quarter, the Company had approximately $44.7 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization.  

At the end of the second quarter of 2018, the Company had $50 million in debt outstanding under that facility, with an additional $35.8 million of availability.

Quarterly Cash Dividend

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders of $0.11 per share.  The dividend will be paid on September 6, 2018 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 23, 2018, and represents a 22% increase from the quarterly cash dividend paid in August of 2017.  

Financial Outlook

Based on current information, Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. is revising its full year 2018 outlook based on a 52 week year ending December 30, 2018, as follows:  

The foregoing statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them.  We refer you to our recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more detailed discussions of the risks that could impact our financial outlook and our future operating results and financial condition.  

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2018 financial results today at 8:30 AM Eastern Time.  Hosting the call will be Michael P. O'Donnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Arne G. Haak, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Cheryl Henry, President and Chief Operating Officer.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 323-794-2093. A replay will be available one hour after the call and can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6671; the password is 8635792. The replay will be available until Friday, August 17, 2018. The call will also be webcast live from the Company's website at www.rhgi.com under the investor relations section.

About Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc.

Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc., headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, is the largest fine dining steakhouse company in the U.S. as measured by the total number of Company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants, with over 150 Ruth’s Chris Steak House locations worldwide specializing in USDA Prime grade steaks served in Ruth’s Chris’ signature fashion – “sizzling.”

For information about our restaurants, to make reservations, or to purchase gift cards, please visit www.RuthsChris.com. For more information about Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc., please visit www.rhgi.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect, when made, the Company’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements frequently are identified by the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project,” “targeting,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” or other similar words and phrases. Similarly, statements herein that describe the Company’s objectives, plans or goals, including with respect to new restaurant openings, strategy, financial outlook, capital expenditures, our effective tax rate and the expected impact and timing of integration of the Hawaii franchisee also are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected, implied or anticipated by the Company’s forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ include: reductions in the availability of, or increases in the cost of, USDA Prime grade beef, fish and other food items; changes in economic conditions and general trends; the loss of key management personnel; the effect of market volatility on the Company’s stock price; health concerns about beef or other food products; the effect of competition in the restaurant industry; changes in consumer preferences or discretionary spending; labor shortages or increases in labor costs; the impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating to Company employees, the sale or preparation of food, the sale of alcoholic beverages and the opening of new restaurants; harmful actions taken by the Company’s franchisees; a material failure, interruption or security breach of the Company’s information technology network; repeal or reduction of the federal FICA tip credit; the impact of recent tax legislation and accounting policy changes; unexpected expenses incurred as a result of the sale of the Mitchell’s Restaurants; the Company’s ability to protect its name and logo and other proprietary information; an impairment in the financial statement carrying value of the Company’s goodwill, other intangible assets or property; the impact of litigation; the restrictions imposed by the Company’s Credit Agreement; changes in, or the discontinuation of, the Company’s quarterly cash dividend payments or share repurchase program; unanticipated costs associated with the Hawaii franchisee acquisition; and the Company’s inability to successfully integrate the Hawaii franchisee restaurants into its operations. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. You should not assume that material events subsequent to the date of this press release have not occurred.

Unless the context otherwise indicates, all references in this report to the “Company,” “Ruth’s,” “we,” “us”, “our” or similar words are to Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formerly known as Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Inc., and was founded in 1965.

Investor Relations

Fitzhugh Taylor (203) 682-8261

ftaylor@icrinc.com

RUTH'S HOSPITALITY GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - Preliminary and Unaudited

(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Within our press release, we make reference to non-GAAP diluted earnings per common share. This non-GAAP measurement was calculated by excluding certain items and results from discontinued operations and certain discrete income tax items. We exclude the impact of the results from discontinued operations and restaurants closing costs, the impact of certain discrete income tax items and the impact of acquisition related costs because these items are not reflective of the ongoing operations of our business.  This non-GAAP measurement has been included as supplemental information. We believe that this measure represents a useful internal measure of performance. Accordingly, where this non-GAAP measure is provided, it is done so that investors have the same financial data that management uses in evaluating performance with the belief that it will assist the investment community in assessing our underlying performance on a quarter-over-quarter basis. However, because this measure is not determined in accordance with GAAP, such a measure is susceptible to varying calculations and not all companies calculate the measure in the same manner. As a result, the aforementioned measure as presented may not be directly comparable to a similarly titled measure presented by other companies. This non-GAAP financial measure is presented as supplemental information and not as an alternative to diluted earnings per share as calculated in accordance with GAAP.

(1) Adjusted income tax expense is calculated by multiplying the Non-GAAP adjustments by our marginal federal and state income tax rates and adding or subtracting the result to/from our GAAP income tax expense.