Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Argus from $185.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.46% from the company’s current price.
Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.
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Yum! Brands Stock Performance
Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands
In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $41,044.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,971.45. The trade was a 35.69% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $4,186,811,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,991,573,000 after acquiring an additional 124,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 1.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.
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.
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