Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.94.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $137.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.40 and its 200 day moving average is $134.46. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $123.70 and a one year high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 50.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 130,858 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,620,000 after buying an additional 14,032 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1,199.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 22,877 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 21,117 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 39,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 54.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,651,000 after purchasing an additional 16,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 128.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 5,134 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.