Brokerages Set Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) PT at $176.22

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $176.2222.

A number of analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $152.13 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.25. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 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 analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders backed Yum! Brands’ board and current governance structure at the annual meeting, reducing near-term governance uncertainty and signaling investor support for management. Yum! Brands Shareholders Back Board, Governance Structure
• Positive Sentiment: KFC rolled out limited-time menu promotions, including the return of fried pickles and a new 5-for-$5 tenders deal, which could help drive traffic and support near-term sales at one of Yum’s key brands. KFC Brings Back Popular Fried Pickles and Introduces New 5 for $5 Tenders Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Taco Bell’s foundation announced $14.5 million in scholarship awards, a brand-building and community-focused update that is positive for reputation but unlikely to materially affect earnings in the near term. Taco Bell Foundation Scholarship Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment toward the restaurant sector remains cautious, with UBS describing demand as “still-sluggish,” which may weigh on expectations for Yum’s same-store sales and traffic trends. Investors Remain Cautious Amid Still-Sluggish Restaurant Industry Demand, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleging Pizza Hut’s AI system caused operational issues and about $100 million in damages could raise legal, reputational, and franchise-related concerns for Yum! Brands. Pizza Hut AI System Lawsuit

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,511.84. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,890 shares of company stock worth $451,123 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,356,869,000 after purchasing an additional 684,946 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,991,573,000 after purchasing an additional 124,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $706,799,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.