Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $169.72 and last traded at $169.6480, with a volume of 113801 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.99.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.
View Our Latest Analysis on Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.2%
Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Yum! Brands Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.
Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity
In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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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