Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Gordon Haskett

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Gordon Haskett from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

YUM has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.15.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $150.34 on Thursday. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $149.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total value of $189,550.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64 shares in the company, valued at $9,559.68. The trade was a 95.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $42,274.92. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,695 shares of company stock worth $4,582,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $602,551,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at about $133,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $126,945,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,789,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $413,382,000 after purchasing an additional 713,167 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 115.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,311,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $197,013,000 after purchasing an additional 703,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.