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

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.94.

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 17,879 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,167 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 30.4% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $138,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $83,000. Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $163,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $135.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.18. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $124.76 and a 1-year high of $143.20. The company has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.09%.

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.