In light of the U.K. lifting coronavirus restrictions on the back of declining cases, four U.K.-based hospitality companies with high profitability include InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG, Financial)(LSE:IHG, Financial), Compass Group PLC (LSE:CPG, Financial), Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB, Financial) and Domino’s Pizza Group Inc. (LSE:DOM, Financial) according to the All-in-One Screener, a Premium feature of GuruFocus.
U.K. lifts coronavirus restrictions as cases decline for seven consecutive days
On Tuesday, the U.K. reported 23,511 new cases, down from the 46,588 new cases from a week prior and for the seventh day in a row. While Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the coronavirus “is still out there” and thus, still presents a significant risk, England lifted several mandates on face masks, mass gathering events and social gatherings on July 19. The country also reopened nightclubs and other indoor entertainment venues.
As investors monitor the decline in U.K. coronavirus cases, GuruFocus’ All-in-One Screener listed on Wednesday four U.K.-based restaurant and lodging companies with high profitability. GuruFocus’ profitability rank considers factors like profit margin growth, consistency of revenue and earnings growth, and strong business operators as measured by the Piotroski F-score. Scores of 7 or above suggest high profitability.
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG, Financial) operates a wide range of hotel brands, like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 7 out of 10 on the back of operating margins outperforming more than 73% of global competitors.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies has a holding in InterContinental Hotels Group.
Compass Group
Compass Group (LSE:CPG, Financial) provides a wide range of food services through on-premise catering facilities. GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 7 out of 10: operating margins outperform more than 60% of global competitors despite net margins and returns topping just over 55% of global restaurant companies.
Gurus with holdings in Compass Group include David Herro (Trades, Portfolio)’s Oakmark International Fund and Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio)’s Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio) Fund.
Whitbread
Whitbread (LSE:WTB, Financial) operates the Premier Inn hotel brand and several restaurant brands like Beefeater and Brewers Fayre. GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 7 out of 10 on the back of three-year revenue and earnings growth rates outperforming more than half of global competitors.
Domino’s Pizza Group
Domino’s Pizza Group (LSE:DOM, Financial), a master franchise of Domino’s Pizza Inc. (DPZ, Financial), operates pizza restaurants in the U.K. and several European nations. GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a 4.5-star business predictability rank, a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and an operating margin that has increased approximately 1.5% per year on average over the past five years and is outperforming more than 90% of global competitors.
