Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.89, but opened at $148.00. Yum! Brands shares last traded at $149.3580, with a volume of 820,393 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.38.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 4.3%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $146.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.49. The company has a market capitalization of $41.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total transaction of $189,550.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,559.68. This represents a 95.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 38,146 shares of company stock valued at $5,699,770 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $29,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 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.