The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $150.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on YUM. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen reissued a buy rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven 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, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $136.79 on Thursday. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $115.53 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $138.25 and its 200 day moving average is $134.56. The company has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,454 shares of company stock valued at $3,656,748. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.