Kentucky Fried Chicken on Tuesday will begin testing an overhauled sandwich featuring a bigger chicken filet and other modifications that could reignite last year's Great Chicken Sandwich Wars with rivals Popeyes and Chick-fil-A. Brands Inc, will sell the new version of its chicken sandwich for 26 days - or until supplies run out - at 15 locations in and around Orlando, Florida for $3.99. The larger chicken filet will come on a brioche bun with thick pickle slices and mayonnaise.

The restaurant sector will take time to recover from the economic fallout of COVID-19, but McDonald’s (MCD) is well positioned long term, says one analyst.

Restaurant executives pressed President Donald Trump on Monday to extend a deadline for spending small-business loans to 24 weeks from the current eight weeks, as states around the country were gradually opening up from lockdowns imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump met with restaurant and industry experts Monday, including Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) CEO Jose Cil who described the gathering as "extraordinary."What Happened Restaurant leaders were given the opportunity to "share all of our experiences" over the past 60 days and "all the challenges we are facing," Cil said on CNBC's "Closing Bell."One of the common themes across the participants was the importance of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for franchisees who are small business owners, he said. The industry executives also pitched on how the PPP can be improved, including an extension of the eight-week deadline to spend the loans to 24 weeks, the CEO said. The extension would give franchisees in areas that are slower to re-open more time to rehire staff, he said. "It was very feasible and I think very executable to extend the timeline." Why It's Important The White House was "very open" to the idea of extending the eight week deadline although there is a "political process" that needs to take place before changes are made into law, Cil said.Yet it comes down to a "technical adjustment" to the regulations, so the restaurant group is "hopeful," the CEO said. What's Next For Restaurant Brands More than 10,000 of the company's Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons' chains remained open for business across North America throughout the start of the pandemic, Cil said.While the service was limited to off-premise dining, around 1,200 restaurants are either fully open or planning for a reopening, he said. It's difficult to offer any specific outlook moving forward other than to say the company is "really optimistic, really excited," Cil said.Restaurant Brands shares were down 1.97% at $51.36 at the time of publication Tuesday.Related Links:April's Restaurant Data Far From Encouraging, But There Is HopeChecking In On Restaurants Amid The Coronavirus Lockdown: Cousins SubsSee more from Benzinga * Bored Of Reheated Pasta? Benzinga's Top Foods To Order Or Cook Has You Covered * 7 New Food Items We Can't Wait To Eat: Shackburger, Big King XL And More * 6 Fast Food Deals And 5 Home Cooking Inspirations(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

The probability that U.S. restaurants will default has soared in recent weeks as a result of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Stifel analysts upgraded Yum! Brands and Restaurant Brands International to Buy from Hold, which reflect their “increased appetite for investing in fast food companies with durable business models.” Furthermore, the analysts think fast food restaurants will remain better-positioned after reopening post-COVID.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. Announces Participation at Upcoming Investor Conference

Activist investor releases 1st-quarter portfolio Continue reading...

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management Ltd. has bought a $25 million stake in private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc. (BX) in the first quarter.Pershing Square said it built a position of almost 549,000 shares of Blackstone, according to a SEC filing. In addition, the billionaire’s portfolio disclosed a new position in Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (PK), in which it bought 678,000 shares, valued at about $5.4 million, as of March 31.Shares in Blackstone this year slumped as much as 35% as of March 23. However, since then the stock has seen a nice recovery soaring 42% and trading at $51.07 as of Friday. In the first quarter of the year, Park Hotels shares have lost as much as 81%.The hedge fund manager has also taken some profits. During the first quarter, Pershing divested about 32% of the portfolio’s stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). The value of the burrito chain’s shares has more than doubled in the past two months. Furthermore, Ackman bumped up investments in current holdings, including Starbucks (SBUX), Agilent Technologies Inc. (A), Lowes Companies (LOW) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR).Despite strong stock market volatility triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Pershing’s portfolio this year returned 16.5% on its investments as of May 12.At the beginning of the year, billionaire investor Ackman moved to protect the firm’s stock portfolio against coronavirus-related panic selling in markets by buying credit default swaps. Pershing Square yielded a stellar $2.6 billion from hedging its stock portfolio through the credit protection. Most of the return was invested in buying more shares of the fund’s portfolio companies including, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).Ackman is this year also upbeat about investment into infrastructure projects helping the U.S. economy recover from the repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak. In March, Pershing invested $500 million in Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC), one of the largest real estate development companies in the US.Last week, both Brian Bedell at Deutsche Bank and Christopher Harris at Wells Fargo raised Blackstone’s price target to $47 and $63 respectively from $43 and $58 previously. Bedell has a Hold rating on the stock while Harris views it as a Buy.Overall, TipRanks data shows that Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic about the shares with 8 Buys and 4 Holds adding up to a Moderate Buy consensus. The $54.10 average price target implies 5.9% upside potential over the coming year. (See Blackstone stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Buffett’s Berkshire Shaves Off 84% Of Its Goldman Sachs Stake Carl Icahn Initiates Position in Delek US Holdings, Boosts Occidental Petroleum Is Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) Stock a Buy? This Analyst Says Yes More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Apple China Sales On Recovery Path In April, iPhone Sales Jump 160% - Report * Vermilion Energy CEO Steps Down With Immediate Effect * American Airlines and Others Given Go-Ahead to Reduce Route Coverage * Facebook Workplace Hits 5 Million Paid Users As Remote Work Demand Rises

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said that his Pershing Square Capital Management Ltd. has exited investments in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the Blackstone Group Inc. (BX) and Park Hotels & Resorts (PK).Pershing Square’s stock holding in Berkshire was valued at about $1 billion as of the end of March. Ackman divested the Blackstone position as shares have soared about 57% over the past two months, erasing all of their losses from earlier this year.Despite strong stock market volatility triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Pershing’s portfolio this year returned 27% on its investments as of May 26.Speaking on an investor conference call, Ackman said that Pershing Square has about 85% to 98% of its assets invested in its funds and is holding cash positions of between 15% and 20%.“We think it's a very different environment than when we made the investment in Berkshire a year ago”, said partner Ryan Israel, who oversaw Pershing’s Berkshire investment, on the investor call. “We continue to think Berkshire will be a strong investment over the longer term, but we also think the current environment means there may be more than typical opportunities for us to see very high-returning investments and we wanted to make sure we have enough cash.”At the beginning of the year, Ackman moved to protect the firm’s stock portfolio against coronavirus-related panic selling in markets by buying credit default swaps. Pershing Square yielded a stellar $2.6 billion from hedging its stock portfolio through the credit protection.Ackman said that today, “we have $10 billion of capital to invest; we can be much more nimble," adding that he wants to “take advantage of that nimbleness, preserve some extra liquidity in the event that prices get more attractive again."The billionaire investor informed investors that Pershing increased its positions in Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) by 16% at an average price of $64.57, while the stock is now trading at $86.18 a share. He also ramped up the portfolio’s stakes in Lowes Companies (LOW) at $84 a share (now trades at $128 a share), Howard Hughes, Restaurant Brands International (QSR), as well as rebuilt the Starbucks position at $60 a share. Shares in the coffee chain are currently trading at $78.60.“So far so good,” Ackman said. “Everything we currently own is undervalued.”Some analysts view Blackstone as a worthwhile investment. CFRA recently upgraded Blackstone to Buy from Hold, citing the company’s attractive valuation. “We view positively the secular growth opportunities at Blackstone, evidenced by 2019 asset inflows that topped $134 billion” CFRA said.“Though near-term results could be uneven amid market uncertainty and volatility, demand for private-equity investments will be fueled by the persistently low interest-rate environment” the firm explained, adding that Blackstone is also poised to deploy its more than $150 billion of unallocated capital in a marketplace where asset values have become more attractive.Shares in Blackstone rose less than 1% to $56.46 as of Wednesday’s close.Turning now to the Street’s outlook on Blackstone stock, TipRanks data shows that Wall Street analysts are still cautiously optimistic. The Moderate Buy consensus consists of 8 Buy and 4 Hold ratings. However, in view of the recent share rally, the $53.85 average price target now implies 4.6% downside potential over the coming year. (See Blackstone stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Gates Foundation Buys Up Amazon, Apple, Twitter Stock; Trims Berkshire Hathaway Stake Billionaire Ackman Takes New Bet On Blackstone, Trims Chipotle Stake Buffett’s Berkshire Shaves Off 84% Of Its Goldman Sachs Stake More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Logitech Shares Lifted In Pre-Market On Share Buyback Plan, 10% Dividend Boost * HBO Max Launches, But Not Yet Available on Amazon, Roku Platforms * Apple Snaps Up AI Startup Inductiv, As Analysts Boost PTs On Store Reopenings * Microsoft Seeks $2B Stake In India’s Jio Platforms- Report

Turning its attention to the "fried chicken sandwich wars," Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) subsidiary KFC will start testing an upgraded chicken sandwich today in Orlando, Florida. The bigger, better chicken offering costs $3.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (TSX/NYSE: QSR, TSX: QSP) ("RBI" or the "Company") today provided notice of an update to the location for its 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed above 81,000 on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump, defending his record on testing in the U.S., ended his White House news conference abruptly following an angry exchange with two reporters.

KFC is jumping into the chicken sandwich wars with a new chicken sandwich test.

States across the U.S. are beginning to reopen parts of their economies, and a surprising number of consumers are willing to visit restaurants as soon as they reopen, according to a new survey by Piper Sandler.

Papa John's CEO Rob Lynch says business is on a major upswing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the rest of the restaurant industry reels from the impact of COVID-19, pizza chains are coming out on top.

Fast food giant Taco Bell is ramping up hiring and announced today that it will be hiring 30,000 workers this summer.

Manager of Dallas-based fund nearly dumps all of Monster Beverage holding Continue reading...

Restaurant Brands’ Popeyes bounced back after sales fell due to coronavirus, offsetting declines from Burger King and Tim Hortons.