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

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of analysts have commented on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total value of $343,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 239,112 shares in the company, valued at $8,203,932.72. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $36,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 223,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,122,426.08. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,551 shares of company stock valued at $1,692,686 over the last quarter. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Yelp by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $29,131,000 after purchasing an additional 57,610 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Yelp by 347.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 124,561 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,197,000. Suncoast Equity Management purchased a new position in shares of Yelp during the 4th quarter worth $721,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $14,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP opened at $37.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.41. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.29 and a 1 year high of $41.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.48 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

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.