Shares of Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) have fallen 30 cents or 5.6% today, reversing some of the gains achieved over the last three weeks or so.
By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has risen 0.6% with shares of rival Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) also trading 0.9% higher for the day.
Before you get too concerned however, the fall can largely be attributed to the shares going ex-dividend today. When the group announced its interim earnings results to the market late last month, it reported a 90.2% increase in revenue and a 27.1% increase in underlying net profit after tax (NPAT).
Earnings per share were 17.6 cents with 13 cents (fully franked) of that going to shareholders. That represented a 13% improvement on the dividend paid by the group in the same period last year and will be paid out three weeks from today on Thursday 7 April, 2016.
Who is Retail Food Group?
Retail Food Group isn't exactly a household name, but a number of the brands it owns are well known. The company operates as a wholesaler while it is also the master franchisor behind businesses such as Gloria Jean's, Crust Pizza, Brumby's Bakery and Donut King, to name just a few.
It enjoys strong economics, reliable income streams from its franchisees, while it is also ramping up its growth story in foreign lands. It has plenty of growth potential and is well worth a closer look by long-term investors.
Indeed, although its share price has risen almost 19% over the last three weeks, shares are still trading more than 36% below their all-time high achieved just over 12 months ago at $8 per share. With strong growth prospects, it also offers investors a fully franked dividend yield of around 4.9% (grossed to 7%) which could be the icing on the cake.
