Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Upgraded by Gordon Haskett to “Hold” Rating

by · The Markets Daily

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on YUM. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $165.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.29.

Get Our Latest Report on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $148.84. 2,415,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,097,446. The firm has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.25. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total transaction of $1,811,492.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total transaction of $189,550.53. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,559.68. This trade represents a 95.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,112 shares of company stock worth $4,760,814. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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