Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Yum! Brands holds a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 18 analysts, with 11 buys and 7 holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $174.81, above the reported share price of $148.82.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS versus the $1.39 consensus and $2.06 billion in revenue, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of about $6.74.
• Yum! Brands authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.8125.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,422,000 after acquiring an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,447,000 after acquiring an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $19,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.82 on Monday. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $154.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.76. The company has a market capitalization of $41.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc NYSE: YUM is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company's principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company's operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.

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.