Q3 EPS Estimates for Yum! Brands Lowered by Zacks Research

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Yum! Brands in a research note issued on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $1.46 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.50. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $5.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ FY2025 earnings at $5.94 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.54 EPS.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $147.7230 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $146.12 and its 200 day moving average is $148.05. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,154.90. This trade represents a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total value of $36,798.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,559.60. This trade represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,284 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,663 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.02%.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.