Citigroup Trims Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Target Price to $162.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $166.00 to $162.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.63% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $154.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.75.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.10. 2,140,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,936,988. The business's 50 day moving average is $137.38 and its 200-day moving average is $130.39. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.24. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 22.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.