Two buys for post-pandemic growth

Article Excerpt

Both Yum Brands and its spinoff Yum China rebounded strongly as COVID-19 lockdowns ended and restaurants fully reopened. In fact, both stocks are now trading close to their all-time highs. Part of that gain is due to their shift to an “asset-light” business model. That means franchisees are responsible for operating and maintaining outlets, while Yum Brands and Yum China focus on improving the quality of their foods and marketing their brands. We feel both stocks can go even higher, particularly as the customers who enjoyed the convenience of online ordering and home delivery during the pandemic continue to use those services. YUM! BRANDS INC. $138 is a buy. The company (New York symbol YUM; Consumer Sector; Shares outstanding: 280.1 million; Market cap: $38.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.9; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.yum.com) operates 55,361 restaurants in over 155 countries—65% of those outlets are outside of the U.S. Its main banners are KFC (fried chicken), Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Mexican food). In 2016, the…