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

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $174.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.64% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.06.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $158.17 on Thursday. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.77 and a 200-day moving average of $154.46.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,665 shares of company stock worth $2,374,563. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after acquiring an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and margin upside — Yum reported Q1 EPS of $1.50 (above estimates) with revenue up ~15% and a large profit jump; digital sales reached a record (~63% of system sales), supporting better-than-expected fundamentals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell strength and improving visibility — Analysts (Morgan Stanley coverage cited) highlight Taco Bell’s continued comp strength and loyalty/digital engagement gains as drivers of near-term visibility and growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC global expansion and delivery gains — Management and industry write-ups point to KFC fueling international growth, helping the company’s top-line and margin mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target moves are modestly supportive but ratings remain conservative — Citi and Wells Fargo raised price targets slightly but maintain neutral/equal-weight ratings, limiting immediate bullish catalyst strength. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales executed under 10b5‑1 plans — CEO Scott Mezvinsky and CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold shares (pre-arranged plans); such filings can create near-term selling pressure but are less informative about company fundamentals. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut lagging — Coverage highlights Pizza Hut’s continued underperformance, which can blunt overall company upside and keep investors cautious until a clearer turnaround is visible. Read More.

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.