Another Chicken Run for Restaurant Brands With El Pollo Loco Rumors

A little over two years ago, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO), a quick serve restaurant that “offers individual and family-sized chicken meals, Mexican-inspired entrees, sides, and, alternative proteins,” was mentioned as a potential acquisition target of Jollibee Foods Corp, the largest fast food franchisor in the Philippines. LOCO closed that day at $26.25 and with … Read more

A Chicken-Fueled Pairs Trade: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Versus Restaurant Brands

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. (PLKI) is one expensive stock, especially for a (fried chicken) restaurant: trailing P/E of 36.2, forward P/E of 28.9, price/sales of 5.5, and price/book of 187.4. PLKI most recently reported 4.7% year-over-year revenue growth and -1.9% earnings growth. (Data from Yahoo Finance). According to briefing.com, year-over-year revenue growth has stagnated in … Read more

OPEC’s Latest Stumbles Create the Next Opportunity for an Oil-Driven Pairs Trade

In a previous post on the stock market, I noted how commodity-related plays were apparently benefiting from a sagging U.S. dollar index (DXY0). I failed to note that oil was (and is) a glaring exception. Oil futures fell around 9% for the week. This plunge was enough to completely reverse last month’s rally for United … Read more

A Shift In the UGA vs USO Pairs Trade Ahead of Algiers OPEC Gathering

OPEC, the oil cartel known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, will hold an informal meeting in Algiers, Algeria this coming week (September 28, 2016). On Friday, September 23, 2016 headlines declared that Saudi Arabia and Iran were unable to reach agreement on production caps after two days of preparatory talks in Vienna, … Read more

A Bottoming For Solar City Sets Up Next Pairs Trade With Tesla

A week ago, I discussed the setup for the next pairs trade going short Solar City (SCTY) and long Tesla Motors (TSLA). The technicals of SCTY and TSLA suggested a (short-term) bottom in the making. The latest charts suggest a confirmation of those bottoms, especially for Solar City. The follow-through confirmation came 2 days after … Read more