Yum! Brands (YUM) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) is anticipated to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, February 6th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.60 per share and revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter. Individual that wish to register for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Yum! Brands to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $6 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $130.84. 501,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,942,771. The stock has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $143.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.55.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $141.00 price target (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.