Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.17 Consensus PT from Analysts

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.17.

YELP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded Yelp to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $34.07 on Friday. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.56 and a 1 year high of $41.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $361.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total value of $397,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,022,963.36. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $785,007.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 153,159 shares in the company, valued at $5,467,776.30. The trade was a 12.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,256 shares of company stock worth $2,047,609 in the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Yelp by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Yelp by 1,963.6% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Yelp by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the third quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.