Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Raised to $171.00

Posted by Joseph Griffin on Feb 5th, 2026

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) had its target price raised by research analysts at Citigroup from $170.00 to $171.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.25% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.50.

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Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $160.94. 2,310,337 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,202,319. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.91. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) 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 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.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. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total transaction of $419,839.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,292. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $42,274.92. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,398 shares of company stock worth $4,090,015. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue topped expectations and Taco Bell drove same-store sales strength, supporting growth outlook and investor confidence. Yum Brands post mixed quarter, Taco Bell shines
Positive Sentiment: Yum raised its quarterly dividend (5.6% increase to $0.75 per share), a shareholder-friendly move that supports yield-focused buying. Taco Bell, KFC Parent Yum! Brands Hikes Dividend Despite Margin Squeeze
Positive Sentiment: Byte by Yum — the company’s proprietary AI/SaaS platform — is being rolled out to operators and customers across KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit, offering a tech-driven efficiency and growth lever that investors view as a long-term positive. Yum Brands Battles Rival Restaurants With Proprietary AI
Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy and $180 price target, signaling continued analyst conviction around Taco Bell momentum and the company’s post–Pizza Hut strategic upside. TD Cowen Buy Rating on Yum (Benzinga summary)
Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $160 but kept an “equal weight” rating — a modest adjustment that neither clearly accelerates nor reverses current momentum. Yum Brands price target raised at Wells Fargo (The Fly)
Neutral Sentiment: Overall Q4 was mixed: non?GAAP EPS missed by ~$0.03 while revenue beat and system sales growth was positive — market reaction is balanced between near-term margin pressure and top-line durability. Yum Brands Q4 press release
Negative Sentiment: Yum plans to close ~250 underperforming U.S. Pizza Hut locations and is conducting a formal review of options for the brand (including a potential sale) — this highlights structural problems at Pizza Hut that could weigh on near-term results and create execution risk. Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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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.