Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Upgraded at Argus

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $155.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ target price points to a potential upside of 15.53% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on YUM. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.44.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $134.16 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $124.76 and a one year high of $143.20. The firm has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.11.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $959,600.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,307,396.90. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,879 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,167. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 352,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,526 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 130,858 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,620,000 after buying an additional 14,032 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1,199.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 22,877 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after buying an additional 21,117 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 39,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,490,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,651,000 after acquiring an additional 16,767 shares in the last quarter. 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.