Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $124.68 and last traded at $125.06, with a volume of 807947 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price target (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.61.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $135.03 and a 200-day moving average of $133.90. The firm has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $959,600.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,307,396.90. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,879 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,167. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.