Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Raised to $162.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $156.00 to $162.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.11% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.32.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 7.5%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $149.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.16. The company has a market cap of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.72. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.80, for a total transaction of $1,074,964.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,413,371.40. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 28,815 shares of company stock worth $4,267,986 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 741.1% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 256,961 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,435,000 after buying an additional 3,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.