Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Lowered to $180.00 at TD Cowen

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target decreased by research analysts at TD Cowen from $186.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on YUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.89.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $154.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.65. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $42.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $40,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,890 shares of company stock worth $915,163. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.