Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for Yum! Brands Q3 Earnings

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Yum! Brands in a report released on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.46 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate 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 analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Securities increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $154.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $154.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,805,000 after purchasing an additional 17,133 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,825,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after buying an additional 20,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,066,000 after acquiring an additional 5,684 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

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.