Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given New $171.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $163.00 to $171.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.81% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.57.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $9.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $166.32. 4,008,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,185,497. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $134.26 and a one year high of $170.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.48. The stock has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.89, for a total value of $32,990.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,980.98. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Turner sold 285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $39,931.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,858,454.75. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,288 shares of company stock valued at $666,149. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.56, above analyst expectations, while revenue rose 3.8% year over year to $2.05 billion. KFC’s international business was a growth driver, with system sales up 9%. Yum Brands earnings beat estimates, but cyclospora outbreak weighs on Taco Bell
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Taco Bell sales improved in September and October after the food-safety outbreak, with the brand recovering faster than expected. Loyalty members returned more quickly than other customers, suggesting the program helped restore traffic. Taco Bell’s loyalty program helped the brand recover from Cyclospora outbreak
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $180 and retained a Buy rating; Deutsche Bank also lifted its target, to $171. Deutsche Bank adjusts price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views were mixed: BTIG reaffirmed Neutral, while Zacks downgraded YUM from Hold to Strong Sell, reflecting uncertainty about the durability of sales recovery.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational results were uneven. Taco Bell U.S. same-store sales fell 4% amid the cyclospora outbreak, and KFC U.S. system sales declined 6%. Revenue also came in below some estimates, despite the EPS beat. KFC’s U.S. turnaround has a long way to go
• Negative Sentiment: Yum ended its relationship with its Puerto Rico franchise operator, temporarily closing the island’s KFC and Taco Bell restaurants while it seeks a replacement partner. KFC and Taco Bell restaurants close across Puerto Rico

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates, franchises and licenses quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Its principal brands are KFC, which specializes in fried and other chicken products; Taco Bell, which offers Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which sells pizzas and related menu items; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain.

The company’s business is primarily franchise-based, with restaurants operated by independent franchisees and licensees alongside company-operated locations.