Operations

Rave continues to roll during a profitable trading week

Rave Restaurant Group is on a roll, making gains in share value over the last two weeks.

Photo: iStock.

December 14, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Investors are clearly warming up to the idea of giving when it comes to their favorite pizza brands, and that might apply doubly to Pizza Inn and Pie Five parent, Rave Restaurant Group, which had another particularly good trading week. It wasn't alone, however, as Papa John's, Domino's and Yum Brands also improved their value for the trading period that ended Dec. 11.

Dallas-based Rave Restaurant Group, however, managed the largest percentage increase on the week, gaining another nickel in valueover the five trading days to close Friday at $1.01, a level it hasn't hit since before the pandemic became a nightmare for real in the U.S. in early March.

Papa John's also gained a nice bump, closing Friday at $84.83 up almost $4 from the previous week's closing price of $80.86. Unlike the other three brands monitored here, Papa John's has just climbed up and beyond its pre-pandemic prices, which for instance, fell as low as $38.72 on March 11, just as the virus was beginning to appear in the U.S.

Domino's also managed a small increase last week to $383.37 Friday at the close, compared to $382.99 the previous Friday's close. Finally, Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands also eked out a slight increase in value, closing Friday at $105.99, up from $105.86 a week earlier.

Cheese

In cheese trading last week, prices for both barrels and blocks gained, with barrels averaging a penny increase to $1.42, while 40-pound blocks averaged $1.63 for the week. Barrels closed at $1.44 and blocks ended Friday at $1.62. according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pizza cheese sales are strong in the West and Midwest, as some customers have returned in light of steadier market tones, the U.S.D.A. said. But, cheese curd producers in the Midwest are experiencing less interest amidst increased closures and restrictions of restaurants there. Food service demand, in general, is soft with little bullishness expected near term, the U.S.D.A. said. In general, cheese market tones have steadied after a notably bearish November.

Wheat

U.S. wheat prices ended up at almost $6.15 per bushel at the close of trading Friday, as prices generally trended upward as word that Russia may levy a wheat export tax leaked out. On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, March hard red spring futures picked up 19 cents to conclude at $5.70 a bushel, while at the Chicago Board of Trade, March soft red winter wheat futures gained 39 cents to end at $6.14/bu.

In Kansas City, March hard red winter futures increased 38 cents to close at $5.18 per bushel. The U.S.D.A. forecasts total global wheat consumption in 2020/21 will grow 1% over last year to a record 758 million metric tons.

Auto fuel

Demand for auto fuel just continues to wane, according to the American Automobile Association, which said that fact continues to keep prices of the business essential relatively low. Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline fell a cent to $2.15, a penny below last week at this time and 4 cents lower than last month, AAA said.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that last week demand for gas fell from 7.97 million barrels a day (b/d)/d to 7.6 million b/d last week — the lowest weekly estimate since the end of May. That fact, along with an increase in domestic stocks is keeping the lid on prices.

The biggest weekly changes by state last week were led off by Ohio, where gas prices fell a dime a gallon last week, followed by an 8-cent drop in Indiana and 7-cent drop in Michigan.

This morning, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded stood at $2.16, at this writing, which is even with last week and 3 cents higher than last month. Mid-grade and premium fuel were flat with their prices a week earlier at $2.51 and $2.78 on average respectively.

Diesel this morning averaged $2.47, up 2 cents from the previous week and 8 cents from the previous month. E85 came in at $1.95 today, flat with both last week and last month.

Natural gas

Natural gas spot prices fell at most locations over the most recent 7-day reporting period that ended on Dec. 9. The Henry Hub spot price fell from $2.70 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to $2.45/MMBtu for the period, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of the January 2021 contract fell 34 cents to $2.44/MMBtu, with the price of the 12-month strip, averaging January 2021 through December 2021, futures contracts down 20 cents/MMBtu to $2.58/MMBtu.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 5 cents/MMBtu, averaging $5.39/MMBtu for the period. The prices of ethane, isobutane, and butane fell by 6%, 7%, and 9%, respectively. The prices of natural gasoline and propane rose by 4% and 5%, respectively.

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.