Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given New $155.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on YUM. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.20.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,393,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,195. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.72. The company has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $144.71.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,038,775,000 after buying an additional 111,147 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $252,272,000 after purchasing an additional 452,339 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,677,290 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $225,025,000 after purchasing an additional 44,428 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 835,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $116,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.