Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., owner of the Sizzler chain, has hired investment banker Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin to weigh options including a complete or partial sale of the company.

“Management and the board believe that our stock price does not reflect the true value of our company and our prospects,” Chuck Boppell, Worldwide’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The struggling Sherman Oaks-based company operates or franchises 22 Pat & Oscar’s restaurants, 306 Sizzlers in the U.S. and Australia, and 112 franchised KFC units, mostly in Australia.

The announcement was made after Wednesday’s market close. Worldwide shares were up 40 cents at $4.05 at 11:30 a.m. PDT Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, a 52-week high.

The company’s recent struggles have included lackluster promotions and continued fallout from an E. coli outbreak last year at several of its Pat & Oscar’s eateries that sickened about 47 people.

Sales at U.S. Sizzler restaurants open at least a year fell in the company’s second quarter ended Oct. 17. Worldwide blamed the drop partly on poor response to a $9.99 half-slab rib deal.