Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.33.

Separately, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.

Yelp Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of YELP stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $33.17. 240,548 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,276. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.89.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $350.73 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $49,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 107,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,984.12. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 182,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,010,227.20. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,029,667. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,924,457 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $74,477,000 after buying an additional 164,149 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,845,575 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $71,424,000 after buying an additional 255,775 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Yelp by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,774,878 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $68,702,000 after acquiring an additional 15,649 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Yelp by 375.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,331,835 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $51,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,588 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 163.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 853,867 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $33,045,000 after purchasing an additional 529,667 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.