Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $28.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Yelp Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of YELP opened at $25.12 on Thursday. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $19.60 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.47.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.70 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 19.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.72, for a total transaction of $29,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 267,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,881.20. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 216,800 shares in the company, valued at $5,420,000. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 238,764 shares of company stock valued at $6,475,093 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 14.5% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,056 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 58,298 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,204 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 35,838 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Yelp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 19,871 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.