Argus Cuts Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $180.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price reduced by Argus from $185.00 to $180.00 in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Argus currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $146.15 on Monday. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $170.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.02.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,482.86. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.