Citigroup Lowers Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $162.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $166.00 to $162.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $144.75.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.1 %

YUM opened at $141.77 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $137.98 and a 200 day moving average of $130.85. 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 $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.