THE HEDGEYE BREAKFAST MONITOR
MACRO NOTES
Consumer
Yesterday’s initial jobless claims number came in at 404k versus expectations of 405k and the prior week’s revised 405k. The jobs picture is far from improving and, while the numbers are not deteriorating, we believe that casual dining needs an improvement in the jobs picture to boost demand.
Gasoline prices have ticked up over the last week as the dollar has weakened and some optimism on the economy has surfaced.
Advance Retail Sales for September came in at +1.1% versus expectations of 0.7%. Retail Sales Less Autos came in at 0.6% versus expectations of 0.3%.
China
China’s inflation came in at 6.1% in September, exceeding 6% for a fourth month in succession.
SUBSECTOR PERFORMANCE
FOOD PROCESSORS
SAFM: Sanderson Farms target increased to $52 from $48 at Stephens
QUICK SERVICE
GMCR: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was upgraded by Longbow Research to Buy, with a price target of $112.
SBUX: Starbucks was reiterated “Overweight”at Piper Jaffray and its price target was raised to $55 from $50.
SONC: Sonic announced that its Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program for up to $30 million worth of common stock through August 31, 2012.
CASUAL DINING
DIN: DineEquity has announced that franchisee Neighborhood Restaurant Parnters purchased Apple Restaurants, which includes 40 Applebee’s in the Atlanta area. No terms of the agreement were disclosed.
Howard Penney
Managing Director
Rory Green
Analyst