Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Yum! Brands has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 21 analysts, with 13 buy ratings and eight holds. The average 12-month price target is $172.56, above the reported share price of $144.64.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share versus the $1.58 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion.
• Yum! Brands maintains shareholder-return initiatives, including a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share and a recently authorized $4 billion stock-repurchase program covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.56.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on YUM. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $162.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.1%

YUM opened at $144.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $134.26 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $145.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.91.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474. This trade represents a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 241 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.89, for a total value of $32,990.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,980.98. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,778 shares of company stock valued at $1,966,393. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.