Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 on December 13th

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.67 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd.

Yum! Brands has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years. Yum! Brands has a payout ratio of 44.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Yum! Brands to earn $6.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.5%.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $138.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $123.70 and a one year high of $143.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.55.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.94.

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.