Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, purchasing 17,826 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Yum! Brands recently reported earnings of $1.44 EPS, falling short of analysts' estimates, while revenue increased by 9.6% year-over-year but was slightly below expectations.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 56.02%.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,805,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on YUM. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, August 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $144.52 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.13.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 56.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total value of $40,332.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,543. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Profile

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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