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

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.25.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $133.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.39. The company has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $169,414.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 101,629 shares of company stock valued at $13,888,443. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUM. 9258 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 218,794 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,588,000 after purchasing an additional 9,323 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.