Atlantic Equities upgraded YUM to "overweight" from "neutral"
The shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) are up 1.1% at $133.21, after the Taco Bell parent received an upgrade at Atlantic Equities to "overweight" from "neutral." The analyst in question said returns from restaurant chains could rise once again, and that the company, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, is well-positioned to benefit from it.
The brokerage bunch was skeptical of YUM coming into today. Of the 20 analysts in coverage, 13 carry a tepid "hold" rating, while the remaining seven say "buy" or better. Should some of these firms start to change their tune, YUM could move higher still. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $137.65 is just a slim premium to last night's close.
The last time we checked in with
Yum! Brands stock, it was brushing off a third-quarter earnings beat. The equity has since bounced off a familiar floor at the 160-day moving average to topple the $128 area, which had been capping the shares since September. The security is now up 25.3% year-over-year.
A sentiment shift in the options pits would create additional tailwinds for the equity. This is per YUM's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.15, which sits higher than 98% of readings from the last year. This suggests short-term options traders have been much more put-biased than usual.