Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given Neutral Rating at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Citigroup currently has a $141.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $153.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.24.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 3.4 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $123.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.85 and its 200 day moving average is $133.86. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $123.19 and a 12-month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.09%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 17,879 shares of company stock worth $2,424,167 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.