Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM 0.13% shares are up 3.2 percent on Thursday after the company reported mostly in-line Q2 earnings, but upped its 2016 guidance once again. Following the report, several Wall Street firms have weighed in on the company.
“Despite what mgmt described as ‘challenging industry conditions’ in the U.S. market, results across the co’s three brands delivered op profit growth in line with internal expectations,” Citi analyst Gregory Badishkanian explained.
Yum reported +2 percent division-wide KFC comps, flat Pizza Hut comps and -1 percent Taco Bell comps. Management noted that all three divisions are on track to meet 2016 profit growth targets of 11 percent for KFC, 9 percent for Taco Bell and 7 percent for Pizza Hut.
According to Morgan Stanley analyst John Glass, flat overall comps in China were a pleasant surprise. “Though we’ve false started before, it would be a significant change in momentum if it sustains,” Glass said of China.
Finally, Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner addressed the company’s cash return.
“YTD through 7.12, YUM has repurchased $2.4 billion in stock (including $841 million in 3Q-to-date) and $3.3 billion since China separation announcement in October 2015,” Bittner wrote.
“This leaves $2.9 billion to be returned prior to 10/31 separation. YUM also plans…
Click here to continue reading
Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!
