Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,260,000 shares, a growth of 28.7% from the May 31st total of 7,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.46. 5,818,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,881,942. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $137.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.07. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $115.53 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20.

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

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.14, for a total transaction of $969,991.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,879 shares in the company, valued at $23,160,066.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the 1st 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. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. 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.