Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Citigroup

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target reduced by Citigroup from $176.00 to $163.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on YUM. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of YUM stock opened at $149.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.46. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $134.26 and a 12-month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 37.74%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Russell sold 7,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 241 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.89, for a total value of $32,990.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,980.98. This represents a 33.33% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,778 shares of company stock worth $1,966,393. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $740,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317,526 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $279,432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS expects Yum! Brands’ growth to accelerate as Taco Bell’s performance recovers following the company’s portfolio separation. The outlook supports the longer-term earnings and same-store-sales case. Yum! Brands’ Growth Set to Accelerate as Taco Bell Recovers, UBS Says
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo renewed its beverage agreement with Taco Bell through 2036, preserving an important marketing and product partnership for the chain. Wells Fargo also maintained a Buy rating on YUM, while published analyst targets remain above the current trading level. PepsiCo Renews Taco Bell Beverage Deal Through 2036 After Losing KFC to Coca-Cola Wells Fargo Remains a Buy on Yum! Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: YUM is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on November 3. Investors are waiting for updated information on traffic, same-store sales, margins, and brand momentum. Yum! Brands Slides as Sector Weakness Appears to Outweigh Recent Positive Brand News
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cautioned that a Cyclospora outbreak could weigh on third-quarter earnings, creating near-term uncertainty around operating results. Yum Brands Third-Quarter Earnings Likely Weighed Down by Cyclospora Outbreak, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its expectations for YUM, adding to mixed analyst sentiment and investor concerns about long-term growth and softer same-store sales. Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Yum! Brands Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: KFC’s planned switch from PepsiCo to Coca-Cola may disrupt established beverage offerings and marketing arrangements during the transition, although the move could provide longer-term strategic benefits. Continued insider selling—25 reported sales and no purchases over the past six months—may also weigh on sentiment. How Investors May Respond To Yum! Brands KFC Soda Switch

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates, franchises and licenses quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Its principal brands are KFC, which specializes in fried and other chicken products; Taco Bell, which offers Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which sells pizzas and related menu items; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain.

The company’s business is primarily franchise-based, with restaurants operated by independent franchisees and licensees alongside company-operated locations.