Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 1.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on YUM. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $162.85 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.12. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,365,096. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $6,027,295. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $107,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in Yum! Brands by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 135,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,041,000 after buying an additional 35,800 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 7.0% in the second quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.7% in the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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: 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 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.