Zacks Research Estimates Yum! Brands’ Q3 Earnings (NYSE:YUM)

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Yum! Brands in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $1.46 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $5.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ Q3 2025 earnings at $1.46 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.54 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.49 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $150.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $151.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $412,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,832,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 68,388 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,175,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 130,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

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.