Though it’s tempting to put all the blame for America’s obesity crisis on the fast-food industry — and experts say they are at least partly at fault — it’s important to view it in context. The industry came of age during the 1950s as suburban communities saw their populations skyrocket and social mores also began changing as women began to increasingly work outside the home.  Some of the savviest entrepreneurs in American corporate history and sprang into action.

McDonald’s Corp. started the trend in 1955 when businessman Ray Kroc wondered how the McDonald Brothers sold so many burgers at their Southern California burger joint.  He opened his first McDonald’s Drive-In in Des Plaines, Illinois.  There are more than 32,000 restaurants that are home to the Golden Arches.  Col.  Harlan Sanders began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952.  Five years later, Sanders began selling chicken in buckets and today there are more than 15,000 KFC outlets.  James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King in 1954, when as the company’s website notes “flame-broiled beef begins fulfilling its destiny.”  There are more than 12,500 Burger Kings today.  Glen W. Bell Jr.  opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with an investment of $4,000 and eventually sold the chain to Pepsico Inc. in 1978.  At that time, there were 868 Taco Bells. Today, there are nearly 6,000.  At the tender age of 17,  Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway Restaurants in 1965. They have 32,800 locations today.

• Read The Most Unhealthy Meals Served By America’s Fast Food Chains

Fast forward to the beginning of the of the 21st Century and many of the same trends that helped create the modern fast food industry are still helping fuel its growth.  Many children, especially racial minorities, live in single-parent households, a whopping 65 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children as of 2007, according to Kids Count.  Mothers are working outside the home at much higher rates than in years past.  It is projected that women will account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018, up from 46.8 percent in 2018.  Add to this mix, high unemployment rates caused by the uncertainty of the worldwide economy, and the allure of fast, cheap food becomes hard to resist.

And therein lies the problem.

Obesity rates are a public health crisis.   Obesity rates have tripled among children since 1980.  In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  People who are obese are vulnerable to everything from diabetes to heart disease resulting in some $147 billion in direct medical costs annually.

Determining how much fast food is at fault for the poor state of the health of many Americans “is impossible to quantify, but is definitely a factor,” says Christina  Munsell, Research Assistant and at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, in an interview.  The increase in obesity “definitely would correlate with eating quicker meals that are easier to obtain.”

In order to create the rankings, 24/7 Wall St. examined the menus of the top 10 restaurant brands in the quick service category by sales as determined by QSR, an industry publication, looking for items that were the highest in calories, carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fat.  We then ranked them against the nutritional guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture.

A couple of important caveats to consider.  Not all food sold at fast food restaurants is unhealthy.  The industry aggressively promotes healthier choice on their menus.  Subway, for one makes a special point of doing this even though its Footlong subs are not healthy choices.  Moreover,  experts point out that some items sold at sit-down restaurants are actually much more unhealthy than many fast food items.  Fast food, though, has gained ground during the economic slowdown while casual and fine dining chains have suffered.  McDonald’s alone earned $24.58 billion in revenue in 2010.  Yum Brands! Inc., parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, made $11.42 billion.

Methodology:  We derived the rankings by taking the average nutritional ratings of menu items compared with the USDA recommendations.  Carbohydrates, saturated fat, and sodium were given the most weight. Calories and protein were also considered.

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up nearly 10% premarket on moderate volume to $56.50, relative to a 52-week range of $37.05-$67.56. The company reported favorable Q1 earnings.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down close to 14% premarket to $48.84, relative to a 52-week range of $42.53-$73.37. Weakness in Blackberry sales caused RIM to cut current-quarter profit guidance.

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) is up 8.5% premarket to $10.80, relative to a 52-week range of $7.28-$12.20. The company announced that its same-store sales increased roughly 5% for the first two months of the quarter.

Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) is up 39% premarket on heavy volume to $22.42, relative to a 52-week range of $9.61-$19.88. Total SA (NYSE: TOT) announced it would acquire the solar company yesterday.

Tuesday morning brings Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL). Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.19 EPS and $3.31 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.33 EPS and $3.51 billion in revenues.  With shares around $40.75, its 52-week range is $29.68 to $48.14.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) also reports Tuesday morning.  Thomson Reuters has estimates for the dollar-store giant of $0.59 EPS and $3.52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $3.40 billion in revenues.  At $30.30, its 52-week range is $24.29 to $33.73.

Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is due to report on Tuesday morning and it is one investors look at more closely now that it avoided much of the market malaise during the meltdown. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.36 EPS and $636.79 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.41 EPS and $671.1 million in revenues.  At $24.40, its 52-week range is $20.15 to $28.44.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is due with its drug store earnings Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.80 EPS and $18.39 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.63 EPS and $18.25 billion in revenues.  At $41.84, its 52-week range is $26.26 to $47.11.

On Tuesday afternoon comes a report from Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE). Thomson Reuters has estimates for the Flash and Acrobat maker of $0.57 EPS and $1.03 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.57 EPS and $1.04 billion in revenues.  At $32.39, the 52-week trading range is $25.45 to $37.30.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) also reports on Tuesday after the close.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.51 EPS and $3.91 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.54 EPS and $4.04 billion in revenues.  AT $19.52. its 52-week range is $10.17 to $23.09.

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) reports earnings on Tuesday after the close and while it is not a sector-mover, it can be very volatile around earnings reports.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.03 EPS and $114.6 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.17 EPS and $143.19 million in revenues. At $9.18, its 52-week trading range is $7.28 to $13.11.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
American Electric Power Company (NYSE: AEP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Started as Outperform ($405 target) at Wedbush.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) Raised to Neutral with $16 target at Credit Suisse.
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) Cut to Hold at Argus.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) Raised to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

In case you were out last week, the top five analyst calls full summary is available here (AMZN, APC, AAPL, GOOG, VVTV).  Yesterday’s full analyst slate is here and covers AAPL, AMGN, OFC, EXPE, KEM, MOS, POT, SVU, TROW, UHS, WFMI, WYNN, ALTR, ATML, NVDA, SNDK, and TXN.

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JON C. OGG

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to SELL at Execution Noble (Overseas).
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Reiterated Overweight at JPMorgan.
Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Volcom Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

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JON C. OGG

BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down again as the saga continues.  Fitch cut it sharply, its dividend is at risk, demands are being made for endless reimbursements and damages, and its CEO is supposed to meet with the White House.  Shares are down 4% at $30.15 on over 4 million ADR shares trading in the pre-market.

Curis Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) is getting spanked, and not lightly.  Its mid-stage colon cancer drug failed to show benefits as a first-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer.  Shares are down a sharp 39% at $1.98 versus a 52-week range of $1.28 to $3.70.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is trading lower despite earnings returning to strong profits.  The guidance for Fiscal May-2011 was offered as being $4.40 to $5.00 EPS versus Thomson Reuters estimates of $5.06 EPS.  Shares are down 2% at $81.47 on 200,000 shares.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) is surging as it has a big deal on its hands with much larger Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT).  Abbott has agreed to pay as much as $575 million to help develop and commercialize Neurocrine’s endometriosis treatment. Shares are up over 20% at $5.67 on 375,000 shares, a new 52-week high as the prior range was $1.94 to $5.20.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) is getting hammered and is hitting 52-week lows on the ADR.  All the smartphone sales are beating out Nokia it appears as it lowered its devices and services for its second quarter 2010 outlook…. Shares are down 9.8% at $8.86 on over 15 million shares in pre-market trading.  The prior 52-week range was $9.10 to $16.00.

Somanetics Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTS) is surging on news that it is being acquired.  Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) announced a signed definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Somanetics Corporation for $25.00 per share in cash.  The total comes to $250 million, net of cash acquired. Somanetics is up over 31% at $24.87 on almost 2 million shares in the pre-market.  The prior 52-week range was $12.90 to $21.96.

Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) lowered guidance… again.  Investors are going to probably going to get more than frustrated here if this happens again.  Shares are down 3% at $9.58 versus a 52-week range of $8.07 to $13.11.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) must feel like the Lone Ranger.  It noted, “Tenth Circuit Rules in Favor of Uranium Resources, Inc. in Indian Country Case.”  Only 170,000 shares have traded, but it is up 46% at $0.73 versus a 52-week range of $0.45 to $1.55.

FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC DELISTING

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JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell – Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of ten stocks are circling the drain!

We have pulled a few of the major names here to highlight the largest upside in each category, and provided a direct link for each to see the logic and reasoning behind the calls from each individual analyst.

In the consumer sector, both Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) were both shown to have close to 50% upside to the fair value estimates.

In the bank and financial stock sector, Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) was given a fair value that is nearly 80% higher than today’s prices.

Imagine healthcare stocks having upside.  Morningstar has tried to smooth out the effects of the healthcare reform and has the view that UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) was about 50% higher to a fair value estimate.

In technology, Morningstar saw close to 50% upside to fair value in KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT).

In the industrial sector, Morningstar sees General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) having more than 35% upside to fair value.

In the energy patch, Morningstar showed that Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) has almost 50% upside to an implied fair value estimate.

In the business and financial services picks, the pick of Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) seems unusual considering its recent woes despite beating earnings.  But Morningstar gives close to 70% implied upside to a a fair value estimate here.

For the lagging utilities sector, Morningstar believes a fair value estimate for NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) is approximately 75% higher than current share prices.

Estimates fair value prices are those of Morningstar, which we used to derive the implied upside to today’s share prices.

Jon C. Ogg

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) Cut To Neutral at JPMorgan.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Reiterated Buy but Target raised to $630 from $550 at Citigroup.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrlill Lynch.
Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) Started as Hold at Wunderlich.
InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity; Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Raised to Neutral at Macquarie.
Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

We tallied up the likes of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE:YUM), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG), Tim Horton’s Inc. (NYSE: THI), Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC), Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA), Brinker International Inc. (NASDAQ: EAT), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), and Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ).

And there are more than twice as many public restaurant and dining companies not reviewed for the restaurant chain tally and more which we showed in the chart of the restaurant and dining stocks.  As far as the restaurant counts?  That is not even close either.  The above named restaurant chains have a combined tally of about 110,000 stores versus the 32,000+ from McDonald’s.  Not even close, at least when you consider the nominal figure.  This is one of those extraordinary moments in time where there almost exists the world’s greatest investment conundrum…. A value trap against its universe of peers, yet a value trap that still manages to represent growth a reasonable price and is still attractive to many investors.  This also may end up setting one of the world’s greatest and most difficult pairs trades ever.

McDonald’s is the leading global food service retailer.  It has more than 32,000 local restaurants and has stores in more than 100 countries. The company has a company-owned model and a franchise model, but about 80% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by franchisees.  2010 revenue estimates are $23.8 billion and 2011 revenue estimates are $24.6 billion; earning estimates are $4.43 EPS and $4.82 EPS for the same respective periods.  The golden arches also has one of the more impressive dividend payouts with a yield of about 3.4% now and it has ample dividend coverage to continue hiking its payouts.

Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE:YUM), based in Louisville, Kentucky, is actually the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 36,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories. Its value is a far distant #2 in market cap at almost $16 billion.  Revenues were in excess of $11 billion in 2008. Four of the Company’s restaurant brands are KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s.  The revenue estimates for 2010 are about $11.1 billion and for 2011 are about $11.46 billion.  Its dividend payout is close to 2.5% and it too has room for dividend growth ahead on its coverage.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) was one of the greatest growth stories as well, up until recent years when growth turned into maturity and then into value.  The coffee giant operates in all 50 states and D.C. and lists 7,087 company-operated stores and 4,081 licensed stores.  It also operates in 43 countries outside the United States and there it counts company-operated stores as 1,796 stores throughout Australia, Canada, Chile, China (Northern China, Southern China), Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.  On an international basis it lists its joint venture and licensed stores as 2,792 stores.  We tally the Starbucks universe as roughly 16,000 per the company’s figure when you tally up the JV and licensed stores with its company-owned stores.  Starbucks has not yet paid a dividend.

Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI) headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is the world’s largest company-owned and operated full-service restaurant company with over $7.2 billion in annual sales and about 180,000 employees.   Its restaurant brands — Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 — have more than 1,700 locations combined.  2010 estimates sales are $7.1 billion and almost $7.5 billion expected in 2011.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), or what we used to call McMex because it used to be owned by McDonald’s before it was spun off, has 830 restaurants and is still growing.  It opened 121 new restaurants in 2009 and sees 120-130 new restaurant openings in 2010.  Chipotle is expected to post $1.7 billion in 2010 revenues with estimates of over $1.9 billion in 2011.  As it is in growth mode, it has also not paid a dividend.

Tim Horton’s (NYSE: THI) is the fourth largest publicly traded quick service restaurant chain in North America based on market capitalization, and the largest in Canada. Tim Hortons appeals to a broad range of consumer tastes, with a menu that includes premium coffee and donuts, flavored cappuccinos, specialty teas, home-style soups, fresh sandwiches, wraps and fresh-baked goods. As of late 2009, Tim Hortons had 3,527 system wide restaurants, including 2,971 in Canada and 556 in the United States.  Its 2010 sales expectations are $2.25 billion.

Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN) is the nation’s third largest quick service restaurant company and is comprised of the Wendy’s and Arby’s brands with about $12 billion in system-wide sales per the company figure.  A trailing 4-quarter period is closer to $4 billion.  It also listed that its owns or franchises over 10,000 restaurants.  The dividend here was low at 1.2%.

Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) operates more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 73 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. The company noted that about 90% of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family owned operations that have been in business for decades.  Growth has been harder to come by and its public company history has been mixed due to a private equity ownership before its IPO.  Expected sales for 2010 are about $2.55 billion vs. $2.66 billion for 2011, and its dividend yield is approximately 1.4%.

Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) owns and franchises 1,380 cafes as of December 29, 2009 under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Café stores.  The company is targeting about 80 to 90 new unit openings in fiscal 2010. Average weekly sales for new Company-owned units is targeted to be between $36,000 to $38,000 in fiscal 2010.  Sales are expected to be about $1.5 billion in 2010 and $1.65 billion in 2011.

Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) listed that it either owned, operated, or franchised 1,712 restaurants under the names Chili’s Grill & Bar (1,504 restaurants), On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (163 restaurants) and Maggiano’s Little Italy (45 restaurants). Brinker also holds a minority investment in Romano’s Macaroni Grill(R).  Its revenue growth has also matured and sales for both 2010 and 2011 are expected to be close to $3.2 billion.  Its dividend payout is close to 2.4%.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), based in San Diego, is a restaurant company that operates and franchises Jack in the Box® restaurants with more than 2,200 restaurants in 18 states. Additionally, through a wholly owned subsidiary, the company operates and franchises Qdoba Mexican Grill®, a leader in fast-casual dining, with more than 500 restaurants in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

The Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) operates 161 full-service, casual dining restaurants throughout the U.S., including 147 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory(R) mark; 13 restaurants under the Grand Lux Cafe(R) mark; and one restaurant under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen(R) mark.

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans and Mimi’s Café brand names. At the end of the third fiscal quarter (Jan. 22, 2010), Bob Evans owned and operated 569 family restaurants in 18 states, primarily in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States, while Mimi’s Café owned and operated 146 casual restaurants located in 24 states, primarily in California and other western states. Bob Evans Farms, Inc. is also a leading producer and distributor of pork sausage and a variety of complementary homestyle convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), based in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third largest pizza company. Papa John’s operates and franchises more than 3,000 delivery and carry out pizza restaurants worldwide.  Sales estimates are $1.1 billion in 2010 and $1.14 billion for 2011.  The company said that projected 2010 worldwide net new unit openings of 140 to 180 (40 to 60 net openings for domestic and 100 to 120 net openings for international).

P.F. Chang’s (NASDAQ: PFCB) is comprised of about 363 locations, with its brands broken down as 197 PFChang’s stores and 166 Pei Wei Asian Diner brand stores.  The company recently initiated a dividend and said it would begin targeting 40% of its income for payouts.  Sales expectations are about $1.23 billion in 2010 and $1.3 billion in 2011.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) is a casual dining concept that first opened in 1993 and today operates more than 196 restaurants in 36 states. Sales expectations for 2010 are about $981 million and then about $1.07 billion in 2011.

Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is the operator and franchisor of restaurants with over 575 restaurants in 40 states. Its menu competitively priced between the fast casual and casual dining segments. Over the next several years it intends to open many company-owned and franchised restaurants in new and existing markets.  Sales for 2010 are expected to be about $631 million and for 2011 about $755 million.

Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) has more than 3,500 drive-ins from coast to coast and is the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants.  Sales are expected to be $581 million in 2010 and $598 million in 2011.

CEC Entertainment. Inc. (NYSE: CEC), parent of Chuck E. Cheese, was originally incorporated under the name Showbiz Pizza Place.  Presumably the company meant to say 2010 as this was a FEB-2010 press release but it listed 2007 and most recently said it consisted of 484  company-owned and operated Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants and 45 franchise restaurants. The company operates in 48 states and 5 countries. 2010 sales are expected to be almost $820 million in 2010 and $847 million in 2011.

CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) is now about to be acquired in the first private equity deal in some time for a large food chain.  It franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service and fast-casual dining stores under the Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Green Burrito and Red Burrito restaurant brands. The CKE system includes more than 3,000 locations in 43 states and in 13 countries.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) is perhaps the most recognized name in pizza delivery with a locally owned and operated franchised system.  The company lists that its operates a network of 8,886 franchised and company-owned stores in the United States and 60 international markets. Sales are expected to be $1.4 billion or so in 2010.

DineEquity, Inc. (NYSE: DIN) is a hard chain to cover now as it successfully completed the acquisition of Applebee’s International, Inc. for $25.50 per share in cash, representing a total transaction value of approximately $2.1 billion, in 2007. With more than 3,300 restaurants, it is the combination of Applebee’s and IHOP.  It also listed that the IHOP system is 99% franchised.  That is part of the market discrepancy here for the old deal size versus the market cap today of only $500+ million.  2010 sales expectations are about $1.35 billion.

There is of course much more than the ones covered above.  The idea is not to just throw up some names and stats.  We want to show how broad the non-McDonald’s universe is and at least throw up some common representations.  If we tally up all of these store counts listed above and do not even list the other chains not yet covered, then the universe is roughly 110,000 other restaurant stores.  If you started to count companies which have gone private the universe is far larger.

Applebee’s used to be much larger in market cap compared to its new model before it was bought.  Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. went private in a total value of the transaction of over $600 million.  Hooters of America, Inc. is the Atlanta-based operator and franchiser of over 450 Hooters locations in 43 states. The privately held corporation owns 122 units.  Dunkin Donuts is also privately owned.  When you consider the income that many established chains kick off, it seems that the private equity bonanza and that the management buyout model may always be interested in these plays.  CKE just got a bid last week (its new price not updated) and Landry’s has been in a go-private deal twice.

All this begs a question… What tricks does McDonald’s have up its sleeve?  For starters, you already saw Chipotle get started and then spun-out of McDonald’s.  Are there any laws against McDonald’s trying out new concept restaurants?  No.  Even in a very strict antitrust universe it is only an issue of ‘big market cap’ that McDonald’s rules America’s belly stocks.  There are many popular theme chains McDonald’s could try to embark on.  What about McChang’s?  What about McPizza?  Do I dare say McFish or McSushi? or McTapas?  Or what about McDog’s?  What about McChick?  You get the idea.  The food chain is in theory not immune to McDonald’s as a threat against almost any niche.

McDonald’s has what looked to be the most solid dividend of all its peers and has room to grow its dividend.  The company is recession-proof, more or less.  It is also a defensive stock and still offers growth.  The company has withstood the tests of time.  It just gets hard to not notice the price that the market is putting on its stock versus the rest of the restaurant universe.

We have included a basic chart here showing the comparable values of McDonald’s versus peers.  We have listed prices as of last week with a market cap, the percentage change from 52-week lows, the 52-week trading range of the stock, a trailing P/E ratio, a forward P/E ratio for 2010, a Price/Sales figure and a Price to book value ratio.

Stay tuned. We plan to update this as an ongoing feature ahead.

JON C. OGG

Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is down over 10% on poor earnings.

Delta Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: DPTR) is trying for a third-day rally.

Netlist Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) is up over 5% ahead of an investor presentation next week.

CIENA Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is trying for a day-two rally on yesterday’s rumors.

NICE Systems Limited (NASDAQ: NICE) is up over 4% after a Cramer tout for 2010 anti-terrorism stocks for 2010.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down over 9% on raising cash.

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JON C. OGG