Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $130.00 to $148.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on YUM. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.32.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $156.43 on Friday. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $156.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.39 and its 200 day moving average is $135.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 73.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 6.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 20,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 17.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Yum! Brands

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.