Yum! Brands, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 (NYSE:YUM)

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.67 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd.

Yum! Brands has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years. Yum! Brands has a payout ratio of 44.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Yum! Brands to earn $6.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.5%.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $135.26. The company had a trading volume of 992,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,092. The company has a market capitalization of $37.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.42 and a 200 day moving average of $134.50. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $123.70 and a 12 month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,351.69. This trade represents a 4.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.