Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 1.68% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on YUM. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.70.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.41. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 64 shares in the company, valued at $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at $24,353,416.32. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,153 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 86.6% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 15.9% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,821 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,799 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,777,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,414 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.