Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Receives Neutral Rating from Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $141.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $153.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on YUM. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reduced their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.61.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of YUM opened at $123.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.83. The stock has a market cap of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $123.19 and a 52-week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 17,879 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,167 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.