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

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $175.00 to $179.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

YUM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Yum! Brands to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.15.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $155.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $150.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.96. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 55.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.81, for a total transaction of $261,161.55. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,695 shares of company stock valued at $4,582,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Yum! to $179, signaling conviction in upside vs. the current trading range and providing tangible valuation support. Barclays Increases Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $179.00
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett upgraded YUM from hold to buy, adding buying momentum from the sell-side and reinforcing investor confidence. Gordon Haskett upgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, which supports demand from investors who follow benchmark research. Sanford Bernstein reaffirms overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Yum!’s multi-year shareholder returns (about a 9.0% CAGR over five years), which can attract long-term investors and supports valuation stability. Yum! Brands shareholders have earned a 9.0% CAGR over the last five years
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive overall (consensus “Moderate Buy”), but it points to mixed analyst views and moderate upside rather than a unanimous bullish case. Yum! Brands Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Several write-ups describe analyst sentiment as “cautiously optimistic” amid leadership changes — this tempers enthusiasm and suggests the stock could see increased volatility while investors wait for clarity. Cautiously Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on Yum! Brands (YUM) Amid Leadership Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital issued a “hold,” which may cap near-term upside from investors who follow that shop. Yum! Brands Gets a Hold from BMO Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer downgraded Yum!, introducing sell-side downside pressure and signaling that some analysts see execution or leadership risks that could weigh on growth expectations. Oppenheimer downgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)

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.