Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Seaport Research Partners

Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on YUM. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.67.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $138.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.38. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The company has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy Skeans sold 3,494 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474. This trade represents a 99.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Russell sold 7,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,186,811,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $706,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $740,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317,526 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $638,589,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Global initiated coverage with a Buy rating, adding a new bullish view that could support investor confidence in Yum!’s long-term growth prospects. Seaport Global initiates coverage of Yum! Brands at Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Yum!’s post–Pizza Hut strategy could create new growth opportunities. The company is concentrating on Taco Bell, KFC and Habit Burger & Grill, while management has indicated it may pursue another acquisition or add a new brand. That could broaden the portfolio, although execution and deal costs remain important considerations. Yum! Brands may pursue a new brand after selling Pizza Hut
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains generally constructive. Robert W. Baird maintained an “outperform” rating and its revised $165 price target implies substantial upside from the recent share price, while the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy.” However, Baird’s target reduction from $174 signals more cautious expectations. Analyst coverage and Yum! Brands outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks named Yum! Brands its Bear of the Day, citing a multiyear deterioration in the company’s earnings outlook and continuing challenges across the fast-food industry. Zacks Bear of the Day: Yum! Brands
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading performance has lagged peers. Yum! Brands underperformed competitors and recorded another decline heading into the latest session, reinforcing concerns about weak momentum and investor skepticism. Yum! Brands stock underperforms competitors

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill, which offer products such as fried and grilled chicken, tacos and other Mexican-inspired foods, pizza, burgers and related menu items.

The company’s restaurants serve customers through a combination of company-operated locations and franchised and licensed outlets. Yum! Brands supports its restaurant concepts with brand management, franchise services, technology and digital ordering capabilities, while franchisees generally manage day-to-day restaurant operations.

Yum! Brands serves customers in numerous markets worldwide, with a significant presence in the United States and international markets across regions including Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.