Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $153.49 and traded as high as $154.75. Yum! Brands shares last traded at $154.5670, with a volume of 1,606,703 shares traded.
Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands
Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands’ share price recently crossed above its 200-day moving average, a technical signal that may attract momentum-oriented investors and suggest improving market sentiment. Yum! Brands Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average
- Positive Sentiment: A valuation analysis argues that YUM may still trade below its estimated fair value despite a strong multiyear shareholder return, supporting the view that the stock could have additional upside if expected cash-flow growth materializes. Yum! Brands Stock Looks Below Fair Value
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts are watching continued KFC expansion and international growth as potential drivers of third-quarter results. These areas could offset weakness in the U.S. and reinforce Yum’s long-term growth strategy. YUM Set to Report Q3 Earnings
- Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands is being highlighted alongside other large restaurant dividend stocks, which may support investor interest but does not represent a new company-specific catalyst. Restaurant Dividend Stocks to Watch
- Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings analysis is focusing on sales, same-store performance, margins and other operating metrics for the quarter ended September 2026. The reports provide context but no actual quarterly results yet. Unlocking Q3 Potential of Yum
- Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell’s U.S. business is facing sales and margin pressure, creating a risk that weaker domestic trends could temper the benefit from KFC and international growth. KFC Growth and Taco Bell Trends in Focus
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have recently issued reports on YUM. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 price target (down from $174.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.65.
View Our Latest Analysis on Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands Stock Performance
The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.48. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.
Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.
Yum! Brands Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 37.74%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands
In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474. This trade represents a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Russell sold 7,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,831,674. The trade was a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,778 shares of company stock valued at $1,966,393 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $740,462,000 after buying an additional 4,317,526 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $279,432,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.
Yum! Brands Company Profile
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.
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