The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)

Research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.69% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.19.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

Yum! Brands stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,546,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,491. The firm has a market cap of $38.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $138.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.38. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,521 shares of company stock worth $4,620,263. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.