Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.70.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE YUM traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,841,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,010,980. The business's 50 day moving average is $148.14 and its 200-day moving average is $142.57. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $40.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.01. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 19.68% and a negative return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,334 shares of company stock valued at $9,734,737 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Company 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.