Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.89, but opened at $148.00. Yum! Brands shares last traded at $149.3580, with a volume of 820,393 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $173.00 in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.38.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.49. The firm has a market cap of $41.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total value of $419,839.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,010,292. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,755 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.81, for a total transaction of $261,161.55. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 38,146 shares of company stock valued at $5,699,770 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $154,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 135.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,506 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after buying an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 53,595 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,146,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,247,000. 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.