Barclays Increases Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $179.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $175.00 to $179.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on YUM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.15.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $153.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.86. The stock has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.67. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $42,274.92. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,695 shares of company stock valued at $4,582,843 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during 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. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $179 and kept an “overweight” rating, implying ~16.7% upside from the current price — a clear bullish catalyst for upside expectations. Barclays raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett upgraded YUM from “hold” to “buy,” adding buying pressure from investors who follow that house view. Gordon Haskett upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, supporting the positive analyst tone around the stock. Bernstein reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a national marketing push with Tom Brady and a $10 Big New Yorker promotion — a high-profile, potentially near-term sales driver for the Pizza Hut brand. Pizza Hut campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains moderately positive: roughly 41% of analysts are “positive” with a median price target around $164 (≈9% upside), suggesting cautious optimism rather than broad bullish conviction. Analyst sentiment piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages continue to label YUM a “moderate buy”/”overweight” on fundamentals and growth prospects; these steady ratings provide background support but are not immediate catalysts. Consensus rating
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer and BMO issued more cautious views (downgrade / “hold”), which can weigh on sentiment and limit near-term upside as some funds trim exposure. Oppenheimer downgrade BMO hold

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.