Here’s Why McDonald’s, Starbucks, Newfield Exploration and Two Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

Investors are avoiding big bets ahead of Thursday’s crucial referendum on Brexit, but the main indices are slightly in the green.

However, some stocks are trending today, including McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) and ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG). Let’s see why investors are paying attention to these stocks today and see the hedge fund sentiment towards them.

While there are many metrics that investors can assess in the investment process, hedge fund sentiment is something that is often overlooked. However, hedge funds and other institutional investors allocate significant resources while making their bets and their long-term focus makes them the perfect investors to emulate. This is supported by our research, which determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see more details here).

Bidders Lineup for McDonald’s Corporation’s China and Hong Kong Stores

Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) are in the spotlight today after Reuters reported that the company has received several bids for thousands of its stores in China and Hong Kong. Among the potential buyers are Beijing Tourism Group, Sanpower and ChemChina. The source added that the deal could be worth roughly $3 billion. The fast food chain plans to sell around 2,800 stores in Northeast Asia. The report also claims that global buyout firms like Bain Capital, TPG Capital and Carlyle Group have entered the bidding process in order to team up with Chinese strategic buyers. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s stock has lost over 1% since the opening. Among the funds we track, 83 funds were bullish on McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) at the end of the first quarter. Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management owns around 4.75 million shares of the company.

Newfield Exploration Raises Second Quarter and Full Year Forecast

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX) is making headlines today after the company upped its second-quarter and full-year production forecasts amid higher-than-expected output from its Oklahoma’s high-margin STACK basin. The Texas-based oil exploration company now expects 56–58 million barrels of oil, better than the prior expectation of 54.5–56.5 million barrels. Newfield Exploration’s new mid-point of its second-quarter production forecast is 15.2 mmboe, 0.5 mmboe higher than its previous forecast. As of the end of the first quarter, 29 funds among those tracked by us own shares of Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX). Israel Englander’s Millennium Management owns around 3.17 million shares of the company.

On the next page, we discuss why Starbucks, Post Holdings and ConAgra Foods are in the spotlight today.

Judge Gives Green Signal to Sue Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is in hot water after the U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco said on Friday that the California plaintiffs, who had accused the Seattle-based company of short-changing customers by underfilling lattes, may proceed with a lawsuit against the company. The plaintiffs had proposed a nationwide class action against Starbucks Corporation. The company is accused of knowingly cheating its customers by serving lattes that are 25% smaller than the standard size. Among the investors in our database, 52 funds held stakes in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) at the end of the first quarter, down from 61 funds a quarter earlier. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital owns approximately 5.71 million shares of the company.

Post Holdings ConAgra Foods Frozen Potato Business May Merge

Investors are watching Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST)and ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) closely today after several reports claimed that the companies are in talks regarding a $6 billion merger of Post Holdings and ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston frozen potato products unit. The Wall Street Journal reports that the talks have now “stalled” but could be initiated again. Last year, ConAgra announced its plans to spin off the potato business. Jason Karp’s Tourbillon Capital Partners is one of 34 funds tracked by us that reported stakes in Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) as of the end of March. On the other hand, 39 funds held shares of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG).

Disclosure: none