Article
Commodities: Much joy in 'pizza-ville' as stock values soar
Values of the brands monitored by Pizza Marketplace soared in last week's trading. And although that news was tempered somewhat by slightly higher commodity costs overall, after a series of weeks of falling stock values, most pizza restaurateurs are likely not complaining about their balance sheets.
April 3, 2017 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group
There is, as they say, much celebrating and joy all around the pizza kingdom this morning. Values of the brands monitored by Pizza Marketplace soared in last week's trading. Although the news was tempered somewhat by slightly higher commodity costs overall, after a series of weeks of falling stock values, most pizza restaurateurs are likely not complaining about their balance sheet.
Cheese
The upward trend that started with cheese prices in mid-March, continued last week taking the price up to $1.52 at the close of trading Friday. That's slightly less than the top value this commodity reached in late February before it began falling again. That rate is also a full 13 cents higher than the average cheese price reported the previous Friday's close when cheese was averaging $1.39.
Wheat
Compared to last week, wheat was lower as rain fell across the Plains and Midwest leaving wheat in better shape. Heavy rain finally made its way to the dry areas of the U.S. just in time for planting. Farmers really needed the pre-planting moisture to get started. Most of the field work was done earlier than usual due to the unseasonably warm winter. In a few weeks, planting will be in full swing if weather allows.
Weekly export sales for wheat came in at 23.1 mb (627,600 mt) with 17.1 mb (464,100 mt) for the 2016-2017 marketing year. Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein rail bid was 10 3/4 to 25 3/4 cents lower from $4.07 1/4 to $4.62 1/4 per bushel. Kansas City U.S. No. 2 Soft Red winter rail bid was not quoted.
St. Louis truck U.S. No. 2 Soft Red Winter terminal bid was steady to 2 cents higher from 4.01-4.24 per bushel. Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, 14.0 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was 2 1/4 to 12 1/4 cents lower at $6.23 1/2 per bushel. Portland U.S. Soft White wheat rail was steady from $4.41 to $4.66 per bushel.
Gasoline and diesel fuel
The price of vehicle fuel was back on the upswing last week, with the average price of a gallon of regular this morning at $2.33, up 4 cents from the price the previous week and a penny from last month's average of $2.32 a gallon. Of course — as has been the case for some time — the price is also much higher than last year at this time when we were paying just $2.06 a gallon.
The same trend was echoed across gasoline grades, with the average price of mid-grade at $2.60 and premium at $2.84 this morning, up a penny from last month for both grades. The price of diesel, however, was down about a penny from last month to $2.51. But again, all these prices were substantially higher than what we paid last year, which for diesel was just $2.10, 40 cents lower than the price this morning of the fuel.
Natural gas
Natural gas spot prices were mixed over the course of the report week ending on March 29. The Henry Hub spot price rose from $2.98 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $3.03/MMBtu on March 29. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the April 2017 contract expired at $3.175/MMBtu. The May 2017 contract price increased to $3.231/MMBtu, up 16 cents in a week.
Net withdrawals from working gas totaled 43 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending March 24. Working natural gas stocks are 2,049 Bcf, which is 17 percent less than the year-ago level and 14 percent greater than the five-year (2012–16) average for this week.
The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 6 cents, averaging $5.81/MMBtu for the week ending March 29. The price of ethane and propane fell by 2 and 4 percent, respectively. The price of natural gasoline, butane, and isobutane rose by 3, 1, and 2 percent, respectively.
According to Baker Hughes, for the week ending Friday, March 24, the natural gas rig count decreased by 2 to 155. The number of oil-directed rigs rose by 21 to 652. The total rig count increased by 20, and it now stands at 809.
Pizza company stocks
And this is the category that shows the really good news of last week in the value of pizza stocks, with every brand monitored by this site showing substantial gains over the week.
Domino's Pizza, for instance, closed trading Friday at $184.30, up from $182.95 on March 24 at the close. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands, showed a smaller rise in value since its price also represents the company's two other mainstay brands, KFC and Taco Bell. Yum closed the week at $63.90, which is up 32 cents from the previous Friday's close of $63.58.
Papa John's value, however, skyrocketed over the trading week, from $76.43 at the close on March 24 to $80.04 the following Friday, March 31. But the week's biggest gainer may well be Papa Murphy's, which increased in value over the five trading days from $4.18 on March 24 to $4.77 at the close last Friday, March 31.
About S.A. Whitehead
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.
