Two special situations to keep an eye on

Article Excerpt

STARBUCKS CORP. $57 (Nasdaq symbol SBUX; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $79.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%; Takeover Target Rating: Low; www.starbucks.com) is a leading seller and roaster of specialty coffee. As of April 1, 2018, Starbucks had 14,812 company-operated stores and 13,397 licensed outlets in 77 countries. That’s makes for a total of 28,209. Stores in the Americas supply 67% of its sales, followed by China and the Asia-Pacific region (20%), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (4%). The company gets a further 8% of its sales by selling coffee and other beverages through supermarkets and 1% from online sales and other activities. Starbucks recently acquired 100% ownership of a Chinese joint venture after paying $1.4 billion for its partner’s 50% stake. That firm operates 1,477 stores in eastern China, including Shanghai, the country’s biggest city. As a result of that purchase, Starbucks now has 3,300 stores in China. It aims to expand to 6,000 outlets by the end of 2022. Owning 100%…