Argus Upgrades Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) to Buy

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) was upgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $155.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ target price points to a potential upside of 15.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on YUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.44.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $134.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $124.76 and a one year high of $143.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.11.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 17,879 shares of company stock worth $2,424,167 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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 company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,445,000 after purchasing an additional 178,612 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 147,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,123,000 after buying an additional 104,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,763,000 after acquiring an additional 73,844 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is 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.