Article

Commodities: Thanksgiving comes early for pizza brands in stock trading

As the U.S. day of giving thanks approaches, pizza brands got plenty to be thankful for last week when investors showed all four brands monitored by this site some dollar-love on the stock market.

November 12, 2018 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

As the U.S. day of giving thanks approaches, pizza brands got plenty to be thankful for when investors showed all four brands monitored by this site some dollar-love on the stock market. Even as Papa Murphy's considered a possible sale and Papa John's turned in disappointing Q3 financials, both brands joined Domino's and Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands in gaining increased investor confidence over the week. 

Cheese

Barrels closed at $1.3050, while 40-pound blocks ended the week at $1.3800. The weekly average for barrels is $1.3180 (up 0.01) and blocks, $1.4220 (down 0.06), according to the U.S.D.A. Agricultural Marketing Service. 

Milk intakes for cheese production were low in the Midwest, steady-to-lower in the East, but plentiful in the Western U.S., the service said. Midwestern cheese plant managers reported spot milk prices at $1 to $2 over Class, as a number of them are holding back on spot milk until expected post-Thanksgiving discounts. As milk availability increases in the coastal regions, inventories are expected to grow. Overall cheese demand is mixed, the service said. 

Wheat

Cash bids for wheat were mixed, last week. Overall, world wheat production is expected to be down 4 percent in 2018-19, the U.S.D.A. reports. Wheat ranged from 4 cents lower to 13 cents higher last week. 

Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red winter, ordinary protein rail bid was 4 cents lower, from $6.12 1/4-$6.27 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 1 cent lower, from $4.67-$5.32 per bushel. Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern spring, 14.0 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was not quoted. Portland U.S. Soft White wheat rail was 10 to 13 cents higher, from $6.20-$6.35 per bushel.

Vehicle fuel

Pizza restaurateurs with in-house delivery operations are receiving their seasonal gifts early this year in the form of steeply lower gas prices from just a month ago when the price of all grades of gasoline were about 20-cents a gallon higher than they are today. This morning, the average price of regular in the U.S. came in at just under $2.70, 21 cents lower than a month ago. 

That similar trend held true across mid-grade ($3.02 today) and premium ($3.27 today), though diesel remained only slightly lower than last month's $3.30 per gallon price, at $3.25 this morning. And lastly, E85 users are also pocketing some extra bills at the pump today, with the average price at $2.31 today, down 13 cents a gallon from last month. 

Natural gas

Natural gas spot prices rose at most locations for the seven days ending, Wednesday, Nov. 7, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Henry Hub spot prices rose from $3.29 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to $3.51/MMBtu over that same period. At the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the December 2018 contract price rose 29 cents, from $3.261/MMBtu to $3.555/MMBtu Nov. 7.

Net injections to working gas totaled 65 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending Nov. 2. Working natural gas stocks are 3,208 Bcf, which is 15 percent lower than the year-ago level and 16 percent lower than the five-year (2013-17) average for this week.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 41 cents/MMBtu, averaging $7.54/MMBtu for the seven days ending Nov. 7. The price of natural gasoline, ethane and propane fell by 10, 7 and 4 percent, respectively. The price of butane and isobutane remained flat week over week. 

Pizza company stocks

Thanksgiving came early for the four pizza brands monitored by this website weekly, which all recorded nice gains in value over the trading week. Domino's closed Friday at $274.35, up $9.05 from the previous week's closing value. Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands also got a nice dose of stockholder love as its price closed Friday at $90.72, up from $86.90 the previous week's close. 

And despite turmoil at the two "Papa" brands monitored by this site weekly, stockholders stayed with each, with Papa John's recording a slight improvement over the week in value from $54.94 on Nov. 2 to $55.21 last Friday, even as the brand turned in some disappointing Q3 financials Nov. 6. Likewise, take-and-bake brand, Papa Murphy's saw a substantial spike in value following its news that the brand is considering the possibility of a sale. The brand closed up $0.72 Friday at $5.37 Friday. 

A note to pizza restaurateurs: Would you like to see additional commodity or pizza stock price listings? Please email your preferences to Pizza Marketplace editor Shelly Whitehead at shellyw@networldmediagroup.com.

Photo: iStock

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.