Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Key Points

• Guggenheim raised its Yum! Brands price target from $155 to $180 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 8.8% upside from the share price cited. Across analysts, the consensus rating remains Hold, with an average target of $175.67.
• Yum! reported quarterly EPS of $1.56, beating the $1.51 estimate, while revenue of $2.05 billion matched expectations and rose 3.8% year over year.
• Performance was mixed across brands: international KFC sales supported growth, while Taco Bell’s U.S. same-store sales fell 4% after a food-safety disruption and KFC’s U.S. system sales declined 6%.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Guggenheim from $155.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Guggenheim's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.77% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on YUM. TD Cowen upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Gordon Haskett decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $182.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.67.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $165.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 479,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,183,454. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $134.26 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.51. The company has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.05 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 25.54% and a net margin of 39.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total transaction of $41,175.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at $74,054.48. The trade was a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,288 shares of company stock valued at $666,149. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,745 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2,946.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 75,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,226,000 after purchasing an additional 72,538 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.9% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,160 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,771,000 after purchasing an additional 4,033 shares during the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43,060.0% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.7% in the third quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 2,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $180 and maintained a Buy rating, citing upside potential. Analysts also pointed to Taco Bell’s recovery progressing faster than expected after the summer food-safety disruption. TD Cowen price target article RBC Taco Bell recovery article
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted Q3 EPS of $1.56 beat analyst expectations. KFC’s international business was a key growth driver, with reported system sales growth of 9%; Yum also reported 3% system sales growth and 7% unit growth excluding Pizza Hut. Q3 results analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided. Citi raised its target to $171 but kept a Neutral rating, while Deutsche Bank also lifted its target to $171; BTIG reaffirmed Neutral. Analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell’s U.S. same-store sales fell 4% in Q3 following the Cyclospora outbreak, and KFC’s U.S. business also remains weak, with domestic system sales down 6%. Revenue was about $2.05 billion, matching some estimates but below others. Zacks Research downgraded the shares to Strong Sell. Taco Bell sales report KFC U.S. performance report

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates, franchises and licenses quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Its principal brands are KFC, which specializes in fried and other chicken products; Taco Bell, which offers Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which sells pizzas and related menu items; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain.

The company's business is primarily franchise-based, with restaurants operated by independent franchisees and licensees alongside company-operated locations.

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