Yum Brands Inc (YUM): Today's Featured Leisure Winner

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Yum Brands (YUM) pushed the Leisure industry higher today making it today's featured leisure winner. The industry as a whole closed the day up 0.1%. By the end of trading, Yum Brands rose 64 cents (1%) to $63.57 on average volume. Throughout the day, 6.8 million shares of Yum Brands exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5.3 million shares. The stock ranged in a price between $63-$63.95 after having opened the day at $63.01 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $62.93. Other companies within the Leisure industry that increased today were: Caesars Entertainment (CZR), up 18.6%, Ark Restaurants (ARKR), up 17.6%, PokerTek (PTEK), up 7.2%, and Nevada Gold & Casinos (UWN), up 5.6%.

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YUM! Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates quick service restaurants in the United States and internationally. Yum Brands has a market cap of $28.05 billion and is part of the services sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 19.1, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 5.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 11 analysts that rate Yum Brands a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and 11 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Yum Brands as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, good cash flow from operations, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.

• You can view the full Yum Ratings Report.

On the negative front, Pizza Inn Holdings (PZZI), down 9.1%, Ignite Restaurant Group (IRG), down 7.8%, Granite City Food & Brewery (GCFB), down 4.9%, and Empire Resorts (NYNY), down 4%, were all laggards within the leisure industry with Las Vegas Sands (LVS) being today's leisure industry laggard.

• Use our leisure section to find industry-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the leisure industry could consider PowerShares Dynamic Leisure&Entert (PEJ) while those bearish on the leisure industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Services (SCC).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

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For more information on Yum Brands Inc click any of the following:

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• Yum Brands Inc Ratio Comparison

• Yum Brands Inc Growth Rates

• Yum Brands Inc Balance Sheet

• Yum Brands Inc Cash Flow

• Yum Brands Inc Income Statement