Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on YUM. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.50.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $162.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.12.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $42,274.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $6,027,295 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 833.3% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy and keeps a $180 price target, citing Taco Bell momentum and potential re-rating after Pizza Hut actions — a bullish analyst signal for the stock. TD Cowen Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s Byte by Yum AI platform continues to be promoted as a competitive advantage for operators (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Habit), which could lift unit economics and long-term growth. Byte by Yum AI
• Positive Sentiment: Yum reported double-digit profit growth in Q4 and revenue that beat estimates, demonstrating underlying earnings strength despite some brand-level softness. Q4 Profit Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is conducting a formal review of Pizza Hut, including exploring a possible sale; that could unlock value long-term but also introduces execution and timing uncertainty. Pizza Hut Strategic Review
• Negative Sentiment: Yum announced it will close ~250 underperforming U.S. Pizza Hut locations in H1 2026 — a sign of structural weakness in the chain that may pressure near-term U.S. sales and investor sentiment. Pizza Hut Store Closures
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares (about a 45% cut in his direct holdings) on Feb 5; while insider sales can be for many reasons, large exits by executives often raise investor concern. SEC Form 4 – Powell Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed Street estimates ($1.73 vs $1.76) even as revenue beat, highlighting margin or timing pressures that traders may punish near term. Q4 Earnings Call Transcript

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.