Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given New $171.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Posted by Jeff Wilder on Feb 5th, 2026

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) had its target price upped 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 would indicate a potential upside of 6.25% from the stock’s previous close.

YUM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Read Our Latest Report on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $160.94. 2,310,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,202,319. The firm has a market cap of $44.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.91.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the 3rd 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. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

About Yum! Brands

(Get Free Report)

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.