Investors Buy Large Volume of Yum! Brands Call Options (NYSE:YUM)

Posted by Francis Steltz on Oct 17th, 2026

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 3,322 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 275% compared to the average volume of 886 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Tracy Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Turner sold 285 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $39,931.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,225 shares in the company, valued at $8,858,454.75. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,778 shares of company stock valued at $1,966,393 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 44.6% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

Positive Sentiment: KFC U.S. will replace PepsiCo beverages with Coca-Cola products beginning in January 2027, with the rollout expected to reach all U.S. restaurants by spring. Yum! presents the agreement as part of KFC’s broader menu and beverage refresh, potentially supporting traffic and the brand’s comeback efforts. KFC beverage partnership announcement
Positive Sentiment: Trading data showed investors purchased 3,322 YUM call options, about 275% above the average daily volume. The activity indicates increased speculative interest in a potential rebound, though options flow alone is not a fundamental catalyst.
Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Yahoo Finance argued that Yum! Brands could be undervalued following its Taco Bell and KFC refocus. A separate report estimated roughly 19% to 23% potential undervaluation, providing a valuation-based support for the shares if management executes. Yum Brands potential undervaluation
Neutral Sentiment: Yum! is deepening supplier relationships across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut to improve ingredient reliability, purchasing efficiency and franchise operations. The longer-term margin benefits remain uncertain. Yum Brands supplier relationships
Neutral Sentiment: Yum China’s plan to expand Lavazza coffee shops in Hong Kong concerns the separately listed Yum China Holdings, not Yum! Brands, and is unlikely to materially affect YUM.
Negative Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its Yum! Brands earnings forecasts as Taco Bell sales weaken and the Pizza Hut disposal reduces the earnings outlook. The firm maintained a Hold rating and a $147 price target, reinforcing near-term uncertainty. Jefferies Yum Brands outlook
Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly neutral, suggesting investors may want clearer evidence that Taco Bell’s performance and the KFC refocus can offset portfolio changes and softer forecasts.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:YUM traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.55. 2,020,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,514,845. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.59. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $134.26 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.56.

View Our Latest Research Report on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, which specializes in fried and cooked chicken; Taco Bell, known for Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which offers pizza and related products; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual chain focused on chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shakes.

The company primarily uses a franchised business model, working with franchisees and licensees to operate restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories.