* Habit Restaurants shares more-than-double in debut
* Co‘ stock top percentage gainer on the Nasdaq
* YTD restaurant IPO proceeds double to $486 mln
* Strong demand for specialty restaurant stocks - analyst
By Neha Dimri and Sruthi Ramakrishnan
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Shares of Habit Restaurants Inc (HABT.O) more than doubled in their trading debut, underscoring the growing appetite among investors for stocks of fast casual restaurant chains - increasingly, the choice of health-conscious diners.
Restaurants such as El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc (LOCO.O) and Zoe‘s Kitchen Inc (
ZOES .N) , which also made their public debut this year, have caught diners‘ imagination with fresh ingredients and options like whole wheat and gluten-free foods.
That has sent growth-hungry investors scouting for the next Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) .
Including Habit, known for its charburgers, five restaurant operators have raised about $486 million in U.S. IPOs this year, compared to $231 million raised by two restaurants last year.
All but one of this year‘s debutantes are fast casuals.
"People are moving from fast food to specialty restaurants," said Joseph Schuster, founder of IPO research firm IPOX Schuster LLC.
"It‘s a long-term structural trend and some of these specialty IPOs fit that niche very well and there is strong underpinning demand for these deals."
Shares of Zoe‘s Kitchen, which shot up 74 percent in their debut in April, have more than doubled since then, and El Pollo Loco‘s are near that mark.
Zoe‘s shares are trading at 351.34 times forward earnings, and El Pollo at 48.92 times forward earnings, compared with 15.94 times for McDonalds‘s Corp (MCD.N) and 38.73 times for the overall restaurant sector, according to StarMine.
J. Alexander‘s Holdings Inc has filed for an IPO, and Shake Shack is reported to have picked banks for an offering.
Graphic: Fast-casual restaurant stocks vs IPO (http://link.reuters.com/xud53w)
Factbox: U.S. restaurants‘ IPO proceeds double in 2014
The investor demand comes handy for fast casual restaurants looking to expand.
Habit, present in only four U.S. states, and Zoe‘s plan to double the number of restaurants in next four years.
Sales of U.S. fast casual restaurants are expected to exceed $50 billion by 2018, from about $34.5 billion in 2013, according to research firm Technomic.
Not all fast casual operators have been able to sustain the euphoria surrounding their public debuts, because of issues specific to their business.
Potbelly Corp‘s (PBPB.O) stock has lost 10 percent of its value since listing in 2013. Papa Murphy‘s Holdings Inc (FRSH.O) has lost 17 percent of its value since it May debut.
By Lisa Baertlein
Nov 17 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (
SBUX .O) said on Monday it has been wrongly accused in online petitions of supporting a Grocery Manufacturers Association lawsuit to block Vermont‘s GMO labeling law.
Petitions posted to websites such as Sumofus.org and Care2.com accused Starbucks of teaming with fellow GMA member Monsanto Co (MON.N) to kill GMO labeling in Vermont, which in May became the first U.S. state to pass a mandatory GMO labeling law that did not require another state to go first.
"Starbucks is not part of any litigation pertaining to GMO labeling. ... We don‘t support the lawsuit," Starbucks said in a statement.
"Neither Starbucks nor Monsanto is participating in our lawsuit to overturn Vermont‘s GMO labeling law," GMA spokesman Brian Kennedy said in an email to Reuters.
Internal GMA documents filed last year as part of a lawsuit in Washington State revealed members contribute to a "Defense of Brands Strategic Account" designed "to help the industry fund programs to address the threats from motivated and well financed activists" and to "shield individual companies from criticism for funding of specific efforts."
Kennedy, the GMA spokesman, did not respond to questions related to that account.
Petition backers on Monday were more than halfway to their goal of collecting some 500,000 online signatures. Supporters include singer-songwriter Neil Young, who vowed on his website to boycott Starbucks over the GMO issue.
The petitions also call on Starbucks to cut ties with GMA and to switch to GMO-free organic milk.
Starbucks said its continued membership in the GMA gives it a voice in industry debates. The chain also said limited supplies prevent it from changing to organic milk.
The GMA, along with members such as Monsanto, PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) and Kellogg Co (K.N) , has spent millions of dollars to defeat GMO-labeling ballot measures in Oregon, Colorado, Washington and California.
While proponents and critics debate the safety, environmental impacts and effectiveness of genetically engineered crops, some major companies are shunning GMOs.
Popular burrito seller Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) has cut virtually all GMOs from its food supply. Fast-food giant McDonald‘s Corp (MCD.N) said it would not use newly approved GM potatoes from long-time supplier J.R. Simplot to make its famous fries or other food.
(Additional reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Editing by Richard Chang)
【 · 原创: 价值投机man 2015-01-07 15:25只看该作者(-1)】
看看能不能再出一个Chipotle
已经跟踪观察大约七年了
伐木工
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