Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Citigroup from $170.00 to $171.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.00% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on YUM. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays set a $185.00 price objective on Yum! Brands and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of YUM opened at $162.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.12. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the company’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,365,096. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,398 shares of company stock worth $6,027,295. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 833.3% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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.