Stock price when the opinion was issued
Operates 227 restaurants such as Baton Rouge, Pizza Delight, Scores and Trattoria di Mikes brands, the bulk of which are franchised. This is a turnaround story. They had new management in 2014, where they were looking to rebrand and redevelop the restaurants that they already had. So far the experience has been working and they have had strong top line growth and strong bottom line growth. Dividend yield of 2.91%.
She thinks it is a great company and is a core holding. There are a lot of good catalysts. They were a group of fast serve restaurants in Quebec put together by a banking group that did not know restaurants and who then brought in experts, remodeled stores and got the business back on track. They had a nice same store pickup. They are now looking at making acquisitions in that area. The valuation is well below other restaurant peers across North America. She thinks there is plenty of upside remaining.
Their brands include Pizza Delight, Baton Rouge, Scores, etc. Mainly in Québec. Recently made an acquisition of a breakfast chain, Ben & Florentine. They don’t actually own or run the expenses of the restaurant, but take a royalty off the top line. There is a lot of free cash flow. Trades at half the valuation of a Freshii. Dividend yield of 2.69%. The new CEO has been reinvesting in the business. They are on the hunt for more acquisitions. A cheaper way to play the restaurant business in Canada. (Analysts’ price target is $3.88.)
(A Top Pick February 15, 2017. Up 23%). In the takeover, shareholders were given the choice of cash or stock in MTY. He took the cash. He doesn’t like the company’s positioning (focused more on food court concepts) as much as Invescor (casual dining). Also, the increase in minimum wage across Canada is having a large impact on the costs of restaurants.
(A Top Pick Sept 16/16. Up 20%.) Runs a chain of different restaurants. Hired a new CEO about a year ago, who changed the decor of the restaurants and redid the menu. Has just added more to his holdings. It has a lot of runway.