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

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.50.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $165.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.83. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $40,176.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,840,607.94. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,365,096. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,414 shares of company stock valued at $2,332,265 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the third 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 period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.