Zacks Research Increases Earnings Estimates for Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Zacks Research boosted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Yum! Brands in a report issued on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $6.06 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.94. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $5.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ Q1 2026 earnings at $1.34 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.50 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.89 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.21 EPS.

YUM has been the subject of several other reports. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $165.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.38.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.5%

YUM opened at $148.84 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.99 and a 200-day moving average of $146.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.36%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total value of $419,839.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,292. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.81, for a total value of $261,161.55. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,870 shares of company stock valued at $5,657,495. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 41.1% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 8,573 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 175.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,485 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 7,959 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 144.7% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 8,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 21,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,391,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.