Analysts Set Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Price Target at $170.30

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $172.50.

Several brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore upgraded Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total transaction of $3,627,901.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $6,027,295. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake 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 in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its position in Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of YUM opened at $162.85 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.13. The firm has a market capitalization 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 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase 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 currently 54.05%.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.