Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $167.3810.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $165.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total transaction of $189,550.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,559.68. This represents a 95.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total transaction of $419,839.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,010,292. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 38,146 shares of company stock valued at $5,699,770 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $150.99 on Friday. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.56. The company has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

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.