Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given New $150.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered Yum! Brands’ price target from $160 to $150 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying about 9% upside from the prior close.
• Yum! Brands shares fell 0.5% to $137.59, near the lower end of their 52-week range. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average analyst target of $174.11.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported 12.2% year-over-year revenue growth. Its board also authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 9.02% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on YUM. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.11.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.5%

Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.59. 194,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,145,814. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $134.26 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $147.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.12.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474. This represents a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, which specializes in fried and cooked chicken; Taco Bell, known for Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which offers pizza and related products; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual chain focused on chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shakes.

The company primarily uses a franchised business model, working with franchisees and licensees to operate restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories.

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