Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) PT Lowered to $162.00 at Citigroup

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Citigroup from $166.00 to $162.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.24% from the company’s previous close.

YUM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.75.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $141.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.61. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.24. The stock has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 22.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.