Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $157.00 to $158.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday. Melius assumed coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.78.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded down $1.52 on Wednesday, hitting $148.03. The stock had a trading volume of 717,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,102. The stock has a market cap of $41.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.72. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $146.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.16.

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $179,154.90. This trade represents a 62.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total transaction of $1,811,492.80. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,815 shares of company stock worth $4,267,986. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.3% during the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.