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A big mix-up: Pizza stock, commodity prices run the gamut

Though most major publicly traded pizza brands trended upward in price last week, pizza commodity prices were a true mixed bag last week.

Photo: iStock.

March 22, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The only real trend in last week's pizza-related stocks and commodities was essentially no trend, as prices paid for both stocks and pizza commodities tended to run the gamut. Double-pizza brand company, Rave Restaurant Group did continue its recent skyward arc, when investor interest in Pie Five and Pizza Inn parent company grew, raising its price over the week from $1.57 to $1.73 on March 19 at the close of trading. Not bad progress at all for a company that just a few months ago struggled to reach a 60-cent-per-share average.

Other pizza restaurant company wins on the week were logged at Domino's, which saw its stock price tick upward $2.59 to close Friday at $363.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. Also on the NYSE last week, Pizza Hut parent company, Yum Brands, showed progress over the week's buying and selling, closing Friday at $107.96, up $3.15 for the week.

The only one of the four pizza companies monitored by Pizza Marketplace weekly to fall in price was Papa John's, which knocked about 8 cents off its average stock price, to close Friday at $87.08.

Cheese

The average price for cheese barrels last week came in just under $1.51, off a penny for the week, while 40-pound blocks averaged 4 cents higher on the week at $1.80, on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Barrels closed at $1.45 and 40-pound blocks at $1.79, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Cheese demand reports are mixed, as foodservice demands have begun to reenter the fray after a yearlong hiatus. Curd producers in the Midwest suggest the easing of restrictions in areas of the country was helpful, but curd sales have now stalled slightly. U.S.D.A. contacts in the western U.S. suggest cheese sales have grown on the foodservice side, as retail sales have edged back.

Cheese production is generally active, minus some plants updating ahead of increasing milk availability. Cheese market tones have held some stability on the block side, while barrels faltered midweek, growing the price gap to over 30 cents on Thursday last week.

Wheat

Around the nation last week, the U.S.D.A. reported that wheat prices were mixed, with firming spring wheat futures, while winter wheat contracts lost up to 0.6%. May Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures fell almost 2 cents to $5.85, while on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat lifted nearly 3 cents higher to $6.28 last week. In Chicago, May soft red winter futures lost 4 cents to end up at nearly $6.27 for the week.

May Chicago SRW futures losing 4 cents to $6.2650 and May Kansas City HRW futures down 1.75 cents to $5.8525. But MGEX spring wheat contracts bucked the overall trend after some technical buying pushed May futures 2.5 cents higher to $6.28.

Auto fuel

Over the course of last week, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline increased by 2 cents to $2.88, according to the American Automobile Association. High crude prices and growing refinery utilization — which increased from 69% to 76% the previous week — contributed to last week's growing pump prices. However, increased gasoline stocks and a decrease in demand have helped to slow the rate at which prices have increased, AAA said.

Total domestic gas stocks increased by 500,000 barrels to 232.1 million barrels, while demand ebbed from 8.73 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.44 million b/d. Gas prices are likely to continue to increase in the coming days, AAA said. However, if current trends continue, prices will increase at a slower rate.

The largest weekly increases in gas prices last week, took place in Utah (up 19 cents), followed by Idaho (up 14 cents), and Kentucky, Nevada and Illinois, which were all up 11 cents, AAA said. The current price of a gallon of mid-grade fuel is $3.21, while premium was $3.48 – both 3 cents higher than last week. Diesel ticked up 4 cents on the week to an average of $3.11 this morning, while E85 increased just a penny over the week to an average of $2.47 this morning.

Natural gas

Natural gas spot price movements were mixed for the most recent report week that ended on March 17. Over the seven days, the Henry Hub spot price fell from $2.60 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to $2.51/MMBtu, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of the April 2021 contract decreased 16 cents, from $2.69/MMBtu to $2.53/MMBtu. The price of the 12-month strip averaging April 2021 through March 2022 futures contracts declined 16 cents/MMBtu to $2.73/MMBtu.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 7 cents/MMBtu, averaging $7.90/MMBtu. The prices of propane and butane fell by 2%, continuing declines from the previous week as space heating and gasoline blending seasons come to a close. The price of isobutane remained flat week over week. The price of natural gasoline rose by 1%. The average ethane price rose 1% even as natural gas prices fell, reflecting increased petrochemical feedstock demand for ethane as chemical plants along the Gulf Coast recover from weather-related shut-downs caused by winter storm Uri in mid-February.

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.