Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Receives $174.81 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.9375.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of YUM opened at $153.21 on Monday. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $153.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,148. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $1.62, above the $1.58–$1.59 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. Net income surged 128% to $853 million, supported by higher sales, strong Taco Bell performance and improved restaurant-level margins. Yum! Brands Reports Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut’s planned $2.7 billion sale could sharpen Yum’s focus. Management is exiting the weaker-performing Pizza Hut business and intends to concentrate capital and resources on KFC, Taco Bell and its other growth brands. Yum also outlined a KFC transformation strategy spanning its 20 largest markets through the end of 2027. Yum outlines Pizza Hut sale for $2.7B
• Positive Sentiment: Loyalty and digital initiatives remain growth drivers. Taco Bell and KFC are expanding rewards programs and using targeted promotions to increase customer frequency, while brand innovation and global restaurant expansion support longer-term sales growth. Yum Brands doubles down on loyalty

About Yum! Brands

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.