Sapphire Foods Shares Gain After Board Approves Stock Split

Shares of Sapphire Foods India Ltd., the franchise holder of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, gained 7% on Thursday after its board approved the subdivision of the company’s shares.

The existing shares with a face value of Rs 10 will be split into shares of Rs 2 each, according to an exchange filing. The company's directors approved the move at the 15th annual general meeting of the company.

The restaurant operator runs 872 fast food outlets across India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, according to its website.

Shares of Sapphire Foods rose as much as 7.16% during the day to Rs 1,671 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 3.59% higher at Rs 1,615.15 apiece, compared to a 0.07% advance in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 as of 9:46 a.m.

The stock has risen 16.6% in the last 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 28 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 77.24.

Nineteen out of the 21 analysts tracking Sapphire Foods have a 'buy' rating on the stock, one recommends a 'hold' and one suggests a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 2.6%.