LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
July 19 2019 - 5:43PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Red Robin Soars on Takeout Offer -- Market Talk
1122 ET - Red Robin Gourmet Burgers shares jump after activist
shareholder Vintage Capital Management offers to buy the struggling
restaurant brand for $40 per share. The private-equity firm
previously called for an auction after amassing a more than 11%
stake in the Colorado-based chain. Red Robin says in a filing it's
reviewing the proposal. Vintage says the deal would constitute a
merger funded through a mix of debt and equity. Red Robin gains 13%
to $34.64, but shares are still off 31% over the past 12 months.
(heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)
STORIES OF INTEREST
PepsiCo's South Africa Deal Highlights Continent's Consumer
Market -- Market Talk
1315 ET - PepsiCo's $1.7B deal to acquire South African company
Pioneer Foods highlights how food manufacturers are positioning
themselves to grab share in a fast-growing consumer market in
countries across the continent. Total consumer spending in Africa
is expected to nearly double to $2.5T between 2015 and 2030, with
food and beverage spending representing a significant part of those
gains, according to a Brookings Institution report from last year.
Kellogg has also bolstered African operations in recent years,
investing in a cereal plant in Nigeria and striking deals with a
distributor that supplies breakfast noodles in both Nigeria and
Ghana. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com)
Canned Tuna Seller Bumble Bee Hires Turnaround Adviser
Bumble Bee Foods LLC has hired turnaround firm AlixPartners LLP
as the seafood purveyor seeks to recover after pleading guilty to
fixing prices on canned tuna, according to people familiar with the
matter.
Bumble Bee is in talks with lenders after defaulting on its
loan, the people said. The lenders have agreed to a forbearance
period as restructuring talks continue.
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Finishes Session Higher -- Market Talk
15:05 ET - Livestock futures finishes the session with
gains--particularly hog futures, which finished 1.3% higher at
83.875 cents per pound. According to market participants, pig
supply is expected to tighten in the short-term as high-weight hogs
have been worked through the supply chain. "Suddenly we've gone
from oversupply to undersupply," says Dennis Smith of Archer
Financial. "[There's] reduced numbers of light weight hogs." Cattle
futures, meanwhile, are up 0.2% to $1.085 per pound.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jul 19
This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to
be indicative of any particular company or plant.
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jul 19 +$ 0.54 +$ 37.32
Jul 18 -$ 2.24 +$ 32.16
Jul 17 +$ 1.89 +$ 31.90
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production.
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of
production of the animals.
Beef-O-Meter
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices.
Beef
For Today Choice 104.4
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 96.2
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose 8 cents per
hundred pounds, to $213.42, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose 90 cents per hundred pounds, to $189.51. The total load
count was 90. Wholesale pork prices rose $2.40, to $77.76 a hundred
pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 19, 2019 17:28 ET (21:28 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.