Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $165.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Yum! Brands traded as low as $136.89 and last traded at $137.5780, with a volume of 320025 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $137.96.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on YUM. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Argus dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.67.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock worth $2,940,693. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $4,186,811,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $740,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $150.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.38. The company has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill, which offer products such as fried and grilled chicken, tacos and other Mexican-inspired foods, pizza, burgers and related menu items.

The company’s restaurants serve customers through a combination of company-operated locations and franchised and licensed outlets. Yum! Brands supports its restaurant concepts with brand management, franchise services, technology and digital ordering capabilities, while franchisees generally manage day-to-day restaurant operations.

Yum! Brands serves customers in numerous markets worldwide, with a significant presence in the United States and international markets across regions including Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.