Argus Has Lowered Expectations for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price dropped by Argus from $185.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.46% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on YUM. Citigroup upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of YUM traded down $4.63 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $143.47. 648,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,101,015. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.22. The company has a market capitalization of $39.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.