Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,950,000 shares, anincreaseof16,290.7% from the June 30th total of 30,200 shares. Currently,1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently,1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $145.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.26.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.42% and a negative return on equity of 20.80%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.86.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of Yum! Brands 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,231.40. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,720 shares of company stock worth $2,150,965. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.