Yum! Brands, Inc. - YUM

I love fried chicken (KFC). I love pizza (Pizza Hut). I love the $5 box meal at Taco Bell. Shrimp is always tasty at Long John Silver’s (LJS) and A&W All-American Food Restaurants (A&W), well I've never been to one, but who doesn't like a root beer float! All of these companies are owned by YUM! Brands, Inc., stock ticker YUM. They pay a $0.28 dividend, current dividend yield of 2.12%. I generally like any company which pays higher than 2% dividend yield, but the company must be diversified in their industry and post solid numbers each quarter. YUM does just that. Their market cap is 24.75 billion dollars, they are 77% institutionally owned, and have a P/E of 21.04. YUM went up $1.58 today alone!

YUM's biggest competitors are McDonald's (MCD), Panera Bread (PNRA), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG), Burger King Holdings (BKC), Darden Restaurants (DRI) and Wendy's (WEN). That's a lot of competition, but YUM has developed their own niche and are exceeding most analyst's expectations. It is very difficult to stop the MCD money train or the buzz around PNRA or CMG, but YUM is taking over China and various other foreign countries. It has been said that in China, KFC and Pizza Hut are the best fast food places to go to. The Chinese interest in fried chicken and the All American Pizza pie is gaining momentum. True, MCD is opening restaurants left and right, but are they ruling the pizza and fried chicken industry? They do not even offer those two items on their current menus. I am not bashing MCD, actually I like MCD as a buy, more so than YUM, but one must get invest in the fast food industry as heavily as possible. YUM is a different type of buy than MCD. Both are great growth stocks while paying a stable, healthy dividend to boot! Currently, YUM is the McDonald's of China until MCD injects their marketing campaign with $$$.

YUM will continue to expand as Chinese and other foreign country's consumption expands. They are rapidly expanding overseas, and the people in these markets are seeing their median income rise faster than any other time in history. Fast food worked in the United States because it was cheap and convenient, and that is why it will work elsewhere. The food may not always be the best for you, but each YUM brand provides a healthy alternative for those health conscious "Common Man" investors out there.

Please take the time to visit YUM's website, click here. Also, visit their Investor Relations website, here. While on their Investor Relations website there is a 3 minute and 34 second message from their Chairman & CEO David Novak, check it out! He is a real nice guy and has a shareholders first way of doing business.

I have posted a few videos from YouTube about YUM. I highly suggest if you own some MCD already to pick up some YUM shares before purchasing any PNRA, CMG, BKC or WEN. Just as UL is a great alternative to PG, you can't lose with the one, two punch of YUM, MCD. Until next time, reinvest those dividends, and have a great weekend!

McDonald's - MCD

While a large percentage of the nation has been to a McDonald's restaurant at least one time in their lives it is important to note that a larger percentage of the nation has not even once thought of investing in this burger joint. Everytime you wait in line at your local McDonald's keep in mind that if you took the money that you spent on a # 3 with a Sweet Tea or a 20 piece chicken mcnugget meal with honey mustard you could easily invest those dollars into stock symbol MCD. If you go to McDonald's at least 3 times a week for at least 1 meal of $6.99 you will spend $32,713.20 over the course of 30 years. If you invested that money today, 8/21/11, you could own 375.0223 shares of MCD. MCD pays a quarterly dividend of .61 cents per share. 375.0223 shares of MCD x .61 cents per share = $228.76 every three months. $228.76 x 4 times per year = $915.054412 x 30 years = $27,451.63 aka free money, excluding compound dividends if you chose to reinvest into MCD. I highly suggest that you get involved in the stock market even though it has flucuated alot since the Great Recession of 2008. Good luck and keep investing in your future!