Analysts Set Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Price Target at $176.22

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.2222.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YUM. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings estimates for Yum! Brands, including FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially stronger forward outlook for the restaurant operator.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, reinforcing its capital-return profile and offering income support for shareholders.
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands’ India franchisee reported stronger operating trends, including a narrower loss and higher profit in FY24, which may suggest solid underlying demand for KFC and related brands in key international markets. Article: Yum Brands’ India franchisee posts narrower loss on KFC sales upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: RestaurantBusiness Online highlighted leadership lessons and brand-building at Yum! Brands, but the piece appears more informational than market-moving. Article: Operator Spotlight – Building Brands Over Time: Leadership Lessons from Yum! Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted that Yum! Brands stock underperformed peers, which suggests some near-term relative weakness but does not by itself indicate a major fundamental shift. Article: Yum! Brands Inc. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, a disclosure that can create a modest headwind for sentiment even though it was not a discretionary sale.
• Negative Sentiment: The pizza restaurant sector has been facing cost and demand pressure, highlighted by another chain’s Chapter 11 filing; while not specific to Yum!, it underscores broader industry caution for restaurant investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $150.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.08. The stock has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 2,890 shares of company stock valued at $451,123 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.