Yum! Brands’ (YUM) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $141.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous target price of $153.00. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.40% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.61.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $127.72 on Friday. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $124.76 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $135.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.90.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,879 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,167. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.