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

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.50.

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $40,176.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at $10,840,607.94. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,414 shares of company stock worth $2,332,265. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 679.2% in 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 in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE YUM opened at $165.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.83. The stock has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39.

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

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

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.