Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Yelp Inc. has received an average consensus recommendation of "Reduce", with two analysts giving it a sell rating and four a hold rating.
• The average 1-year target price for Yelp's stock among analysts is $34.00, slightly lower than current levels.
• Insider sales indicate a decrease in ownership, with directors selling a total of 58,345 shares worth approximately $2.15 million over the last quarter.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on YELP. Wall Street Zen downgraded Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Yelp Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:YELP traded up $0.2050 on Wednesday, hitting $31.2250. The stock had a trading volume of 1,280,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,913. Yelp has a 52-week low of $29.96 and a 52-week high of $41.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.54.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.19. Yelp had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 10.28%.The firm had revenue of $370.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Yelp has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $35,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 212,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,494,125.60. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total value of $346,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 199,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,924,000.72. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,441 shares of company stock worth $1,658,981. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,536 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $13,869,000 after purchasing an additional 8,239 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $29,131,000 after purchasing an additional 57,610 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yelp during the first quarter worth about $2,766,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Yelp by 169.1% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,662 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Yelp by 272.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,595 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 41,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.