Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Cut to $162.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Citigroup from $166.00 to $162.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Yum! Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.75.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $141.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.61. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 22.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.3% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 31,546 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 11,581 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,907,000. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.