Notable macro data points, news items, and price action pertaining to the restaurant space.

Macro

Consumer

Initial jobless claims came in at 414k for the week ended September 3rd versus consensus 405k and 412k the week prior.  The chart below shows rolling claims over the past few years.

THE HBM: GMCR, SBUX, MCD, DRI - initial claims 98

Commodities

The coffee crop in Brazil may rise to 62 million bags in the 2012-13 season as trees enter the high-yielding half of the two-year cycle, according to Volcafe.

Subsectors

THE HBM: GMCR, SBUX, MCD, DRI - subsectors fbr

QUICK SERVICE

  • GMCR has been rated “Overweight” with a $117 price target by Piper Jaffray.
  • SBUX’s plans for growth in Asia are not limited to China and increasing Via penetration.  The company also plans to double its store base in Korea.
  • MCD’s remodels in Canada, which we wrote about yesterday, are to include plasma TV’s, fireplaces and completely remodeled exteriors.

CASUAL DINING

  • DRI was raised to “Outperform” at Wells Fargo.

THE HBM: GMCR, SBUX, MCD, DRI - stocks 98

Howard Penney

Managing Director

Rory Green

Analyst