Hedge Funds Have a Hunger for These Restaurant Stocks

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

– Number of Hedge Funds Having Long Positions (as of June 30): 46

– Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $4.52 billion

Among the funds in our database, 46 were bullish on Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), holding in aggregate $4.52 billion worth of stock at the end of June. Yum! Brands recently has announced its intention to sell Chinese division to Primavera Capital and Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial as it prepares to spin off its Chinese unit from the main business before the end of the year. The decision comes after the food chain faced problems like food safety and bird flu outbreaks scandals and intense competition from rivals like McDonald’s. After the announcement, BTIG reaffirmed its ‘Neutral’ rating for Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM).

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

– Number of Hedge Funds Having Long Positions (as of June 30): 39

– Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.69 billion

At the end of the second quarter, 39 funds tracked by Insider Monkey held $1.69 billion worth of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)’s stock, which accounted for over 14% of the company’s float at the end of the second quarter. The Denver-based company has announced two new promotional deals for September as the company desperately tries to win back customers and increase foot traffic in its stores following last year’s high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) swung back to profit in the second quarter, but same-store sales declined by 26.5%. In other news, around 10,000 Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) employees have recently decided to sue the company for not being paid for extra hours of work.

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ)

– Number of Hedge Funds Having Long Positions (as of June 30): 33

– Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.25 billion

A total of 33 funds tracked by us were positioned in Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) heading into the third quarter, having amassed $1.25 billion worth of shares in aggregate. Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) posted second-quarter EPS of $0.98 on revenue of $547.34 million, compared to analysts’ estimates of $0.94 and $533.44 million, respectively. Its domestic same-store sales jumped 9.7% in the second quarter. Last month, the company’s international franchiser tested pizza delivery by drones in Auckland, New Zealand as part of its plan to become the world’s first food company to start a drone-based delivery program.

 

Disclosure: None