Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Receives Buy Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen reissued their buy rating on shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

YUM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $160.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.00. The company has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total transaction of $419,839.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,292. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 27,398 shares of company stock worth $4,090,015 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,356,869,000 after buying an additional 684,946 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,179,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,459,940,000 after acquiring an additional 487,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,131,263 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,945,791,000 after acquiring an additional 297,641 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,216,042 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,217,826,000 after purchasing an additional 218,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $602,551,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Taco Bell and KFC performance drove revenue above expectations and same-store-sales beat, supporting top-line growth and offsetting some margin pressure. Yum Brands tops same-store sales estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Yum increased its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (a ~5.6% rise from prior), a shareholder-friendly move that supports income investors’ interest. Yum Brands hikes dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Byte by Yum AI platform continues to roll out, with management claiming operational benefits for franchisees (efficiency, personalization) — a growth/efficiency lever longer term. Yum Brands Battles Rival Restaurants With Proprietary AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions are mixed but generally supportive: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy with a $180 target, while Citi nudged its target to $171 (neutral). These show divergent views on upside but help underpin trading interest. Citi price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue beat (~$2.51B) but non-GAAP EPS missed modestly ($1.73 vs. ~$1.76 consensus). Taco Bell/KFC growth offset Pizza Hut weakness; margins are under some pressure. Yum Q4 earnings and call
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut announced plans to close ~250 underperforming U.S. locations in H1 2026 and Yum is conducting a formal strategic review that may include selling the brand — a near-term profit headwind and a source of investor uncertainty. Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut’s U.S. same-store sales have declined and the unit closures / possible divestiture highlight structural problems in the pizza portfolio that could weigh on consolidated margins and sentiment until the review concludes. Investopedia: Pizza Hut is shutting 250 restaurants

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.