Activist investor is a Starbucks fan

Article Excerpt

STARBUCKS CORP. $59 (Nasdaq symbol SBUX, Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $82.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.starbucks.com) is a leading seller and roaster of specialty coffee. Activist investor Bill Ackman recently revealed that his Pershing Square hedge fund had made a $900 million investment in Starbucks. It now owns about 1.1% of the outstanding shares. Unlike other restaurant firms that Ackman has targeted, Starbucks has no separate chains to spin off or real estate to sell. As well, selling outlets to franchisees would reduce the parent company’s share of highly profitable stores. As a result, Ackman will likely push Starbucks to keep improving the performance of its existing operations. That would free up cash for more share buybacks and dividends. Starbucks is a buy. buy…