Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on YUM. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC boosted 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 valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $158.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $157.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.42. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39. The company has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.64.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

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.