Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

YUM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Yum! Brands to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $173.00 in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.15.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE YUM opened at $153.37 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.02 and its 200 day moving average is $147.86. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related 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 value of $419,839.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,292. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total value of $189,550.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,559.68. This represents a 95.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,695 shares of company stock worth $4,582,843. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently 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 to $179 and kept an “overweight” rating, implying ~16.7% upside from the current price — a clear bullish catalyst for upside expectations. Barclays raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett upgraded YUM from “hold” to “buy,” adding buying pressure from investors who follow that house view. Gordon Haskett upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, supporting the positive analyst tone around the stock. Bernstein reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a national marketing push with Tom Brady and a $10 Big New Yorker promotion — a high-profile, potentially near-term sales driver for the Pizza Hut brand. Pizza Hut campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains moderately positive: roughly 41% of analysts are “positive” with a median price target around $164 (≈9% upside), suggesting cautious optimism rather than broad bullish conviction. Analyst sentiment piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages continue to label YUM a “moderate buy”/”overweight” on fundamentals and growth prospects; these steady ratings provide background support but are not immediate catalysts. Consensus rating
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer and BMO issued more cautious views (downgrade / “hold”), which can weigh on sentiment and limit near-term upside as some funds trim exposure. Oppenheimer downgrade BMO hold

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.