Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given “Hold” Rating at TD Cowen

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by stock analysts at TD Cowen in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $145.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on YUM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded down $0.85 on Wednesday, hitting $133.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,318,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,764. The company has a market capitalization of $37.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $123.60 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $134.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.81.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total value of $1,134,562.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,818.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,622 shares of company stock valued at $4,172,740. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.4% in 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 during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 140.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,763,000 after purchasing an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 333,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.