FY2027 EPS Forecast for Yum! Brands Increased by Analyst

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Yum! Brands in a report issued on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $6.92 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $6.90. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $6.46 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ Q4 2027 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.71 EPS.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.56.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.4%

YUM stock opened at $140.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.05. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $134.26 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The company has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,619 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 25.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,768,000 after purchasing an additional 4,760 shares during the period. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $248,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 114.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 28,380 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $39,931.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,858,454.75. The trade was a 0.45% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.89, for a total value of $32,990.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at $65,980.98. This trade represents a 33.33% 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 a total of 12,778 shares of company stock worth $1,966,393 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 2.1%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.74%.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target to $177 from $180 but maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial potential upside from the current level.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Yum! Brands EPS forecasts to $6.92 for fiscal 2027 and $7.71 for fiscal 2028, while also increasing its fourth-quarter 2027 estimate to $2.05 from $2.03. Zacks nevertheless retains a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research Predicts Higher Earnings for Yum! Brands
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim continues to rate YUM a Buy despite reducing its target to $155 from $180, indicating analysts still see value after the stock’s recent weakness. Guggenheim Adjusts Yum! Brands Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: KFC introduced $3.49 Go Buckets, a cupholder-sized snack meal designed for on-the-go customers. The lower-priced offering could support traffic and incremental sales. KFC launches Go Buckets snack meal

About Yum! Brands

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.