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Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands' stock value continues climb

Aside from cheese, pizza commodity prices last week were mostly lower -- and yes, that includes vehicle fuel prices which also trended downward, But the best news for pizza brands might have been the increasing stock value of all three major chains monitored by this site weekly.

July 29, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The last full week of trading this July came wrapped up with a bow on top for pizza brands, all of which saw their stock value grow week over week, especially Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands, where a CEO was appointed for the brand for the first time last week. Meanwhile, though pizza operators got a break on fuel prices to speed delivery, that was made up for in higher cheese prices for the week.

Cheese

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange last week, cheese prices trended up, with barrels closing Friday at $1.72, while 40-pound blocks finished the week at $1.83, according to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The weekly average for barrels was up 2 cents to $1.72, while block prices rose 5 cents on the week to average $1.82 for the five-day period. 

Cheese production is stable to lower, as heat has reduced the amount of milk flowing into vats, and a large Western plant was temporarily offline as well. Spot prices ranged from under a dollar to a dollar. 

Cheese demand is mixed, from slower in the East to steady or higher in the Midwest and West. Higher temperatures have also cut some of the grilling demand for cheese as well, according to the USDA.

Wheat

Cash bids for wheat were mixed, ranging from 9 cents lower to 4 3/4 cents higher. Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein rail bid, was 4 3/4 cents higher, from $5.22 1/2-$5.32 1/2 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 9 cents lower, from $4.84-$4.85 per bushel. Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, 14.0 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was 2 1/2 cents lower to 2 1/2 cents higher at $6.18 per bushel. Portland U.S. Soft White wheat rail was steady from $5.75-$6.20 per bushel.

Vehicle fuel

Though still slightly higher than this time last month, gas prices trended down from last week and remained well below what users paid last year at this time for all the major fuel types and grades. This morning, the average price for a gallon of regular was $2.74, which was 3 cents lower than last week but still a couple of cents higher than last month and 12 cents under last year at this time, according to the American Automobile Association. 

The same level of fluctuation held steady across the gasoline grades, with mid-grade ($3.06) and premium ($3.13) both 3 cents below last week's price. Meanwhile, the fluctuations were not as steep for diesel ($2.99) and E85 ($2.40), which were 1 and 2 cents below last week's per gallon price, respectively. 

Natural gas

Natural gas spot prices also fell at most locations for the most recent seven-day report ending July 24. Henry Hub spot prices fell from $2.38/MMBtu to $2.22/MMBtu over that period, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of the August 2019 contract decreased 8 cents, from $2.304/MMBtu to $2.22/MMBtu, while the price of the 12-month strip averaging August 2019 through July 2020 futures contracts declined 7 cents/MMBtu to $2.39/MMBtu.

Net injections to working gas totaled 36 Bcf for the seven days ending July 19. Working natural gas stocks are 2,569 Bcf, which is 13% more than the year-ago level and 6% lower than the five-year (2014-18) average for this week.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 21 cents/MMBtu, averaging $4.53/MMBtu for the seven days ending July 24. The price of butane, natural gasoline, isobutane, ethane and propane all fell by 10%, 9%, 6%, 1% and 1%, respectively.

According to Baker Hughes, for the seven days ending Tuesday, July 16, the natural gas rig count increased by two to 174. The number of oil directed rigs fell by five to 779. The total rig count decreased by four, and it now stands at 954.

Pizza company stocks

The nasty tumble that Domino's stock value took the previous week was partially righted during trading last week which delivered a gain in value overall for the stock. Domino's closed up $1.13 on the week at $259.06, which marked progress over the $24.18 it lost in value a week earlier on the heels of a lackluster Q2 financial report. 

Papa John's International, Inc. also gained last week, closing at $46.83, up $1.42 from the previous week's close. But Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands, took home the prize again for biggest increase in value, closing up $1.49 on the week at $114.02. The gain follows news last week that Yum Brands had named its U.S. president, Artie Starrs, to the new role of Pizza Hut CEO. 
 

Photo: iStock

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.