Yum! Brands (YUM) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Q: What analysts cover Yum! Brands?

Yum! Brands has been rated by research analysts at Argus , Citigroup , Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft , Evercore , JPMorgan Chase & Co. , Robert W. Baird , Royal Bank Of Canada , TD Cowen , UBS Group , Weiss Ratings , and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

$150.58 -0.13 (-0.09%)

As of 09/4/2026 03:58 PM Eastern

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Yum! Brands - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 21 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
7

Buy
13

Based on 21 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Yum! Brands in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 21 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 7 have given a hold rating, 12 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for YUM.

Consensus Price Target

$174.65
15.98% Upside

According to the 21 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Yum! Brands, the average price target is $174.65. The highest price target for YUM is $190.00, while the lowest price target for YUM is $158.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 15.98% from the current price of $150.58.

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

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YUM Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 9/7/25 to 9/7/26	1 Month Ago 8/8/25 to 8/8/26	3 Months Ago 6/9/25 to 6/9/26	1 Year Ago 9/7/24 to 9/7/25
Strong Buy	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	12 Buy rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)
Hold	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$174.65	$174.31	$176.17	$161.23
Forecasted Upside	15.98% Upside	15.74% Upside	16.06% Upside	11.52% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Hold

YUM Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

YUM Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Yum! Brands Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Yum! Brands	Consumer Discretionary Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.62	2.20	2.53
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	15.98% Upside	202.73% Upside	14.03% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent YUM News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

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Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
8/24/2026	Zacks Research 5 of 5 stars		Downgrade	Hold ➝ Strong Sell
8/24/2026	Robert W. Baird 3 of 5 stars		Upgrade	Strong-Buy
8/17/2026	Argus 3 of 5 stars	John Staszak 2 of 5 stars	Lower Target	Buy	$185.00 ➝ $180.00	+25.26%
8/4/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	John Ivankoe Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Overweight	$170.00 ➝ $160.00	+6.93%
7/31/2026	Royal Bank Of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Logan Reich Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Sector Perform	$165.00 ➝ $170.00	+10.25%
7/31/2026	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Lauren Silberman Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Hold	$174.00	+12.78%
7/28/2026	Weiss Ratings Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy (B) ➝ Buy (B-)
7/12/2026	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jon Tower Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$175.00 ➝ $178.00	+8.82%
6/18/2026	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy
6/16/2026	Evercore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Outperform
Get the Latest News and Ratings for YUM and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Yum! Brands and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
6/16/2026	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Andrew M. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy	$180.00	+13.61%
6/3/2026	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	John Glass Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Equal Weight ➝ Overweight	$180.00 ➝ $185.00	+26.22%
5/4/2026	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Market Perform	$168.00	+7.24%
4/30/2026	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Zachary Fadem Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$160.00 ➝ $165.00	+3.75%
2/12/2026	Guggenheim Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Gregory Francfort Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy	$180.00	+13.11%
2/5/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jeffrey Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Overweight	$185.00	+16.19%
1/8/2026	Gordon Haskett Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jeff Farmer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy
1/7/2026	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Danilo Gargiulo Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Overweight	$179.00	+18.17%
1/6/2026	Oppenheimer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Brian Bittner Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Market Perform
12/5/2025	Piper Sandler Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Brian Mullan Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral
11/17/2025	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Chris O'Cull Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$160.00	+8.07%
11/5/2025	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy	$177.00	+18.88%
7/14/2025	Melius Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$200.00	+33.50%
6/10/2025	Rothschild & Co Redburn Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Chris Luyckx Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Neutral ➝ Buy	$145.00 ➝ $177.00	+23.68%
4/30/2025	TD Securities Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Andrew Charles Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Hold	$158.00 ➝ $158.00	+7.05%
11/6/2024	Loop Capital Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Hold	$143.00 ➝ $140.00	+4.69%
10/22/2024	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Neutral	$147.00 ➝ $145.00	+8.66%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 10:28 AM ET.

Should I Buy Yum! Brands Stock? YUM Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Yum! Brands pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Yum! Brands
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Yum! Brands, Inc.:

Yum! Brands, Inc. recently completed the sale of its Pizza Hut division for approximately $2.7 billion, a strategic move that allows the company to sharpen its focus on its core KFC and Taco Bell brands while generating significant capital to fund a new $4.00 billion share buyback program, which signals management confidence in the stock's undervaluation and provides a direct mechanism to reduce the share count and potentially boost earnings per share.
The company demonstrated strong financial performance in its most recent quarter, reporting earnings per share of $1.62, which beat the consensus estimate of $1.58, while also achieving a 12.2% year-over-year increase in revenue to $2.17 billion, indicating that the core business remains resilient and capable of driving growth even amid broader consumer spending challenges.
With the stock currently trading at $150.58, Yum! Brands, Inc. offers a compelling valuation relative to its peers, supported by a P/E ratio of 23.44 and a dividend yield of 1.99%, which provides income stability for investors while the stock remains below its 52-week high of $170.14, suggesting potential for price appreciation as the market digests the recent strategic portfolio changes.
Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $174.65, which implies a potential upside of over 16% from the current price, driven by recent upgrades from firms like Robert W. Baird and reaffirmed buy ratings from UBS Group, reflecting confidence in the company's long-term franchise model and global diversification.
The company's low beta of 0.55 indicates that Yum! Brands, Inc. is less volatile than the overall market, making it an attractive defensive holding for investors seeking stability, particularly as the company continues to benefit from its asset-light franchise model which generates consistent royalty and fee income from its global network of restaurants.

Yum! Brands
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Yum! Brands, Inc. for these reasons:

There is significant insider selling activity, with executives including CEO Aaron Powell and COO Tracy L. Skeans selling substantial portions of their holdings in recent months, such as Powell selling 6,001 shares in July and Skeans selling 3,494 shares in August, which may signal a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term performance or a desire to diversify personal portfolios away from the company.
The recent sale of Pizza Hut, while strategically sound, removes a major brand from the portfolio, potentially reducing the company's diversification and revenue streams, and the transition period may introduce operational complexities or integration challenges that could impact short-term earnings and brand recognition in key markets.
Short interest in the stock has been increasing, with shares shorted rising to 8,641,896 in the most recent reporting period, representing a 14.23% month-over-month increase, which suggests that a growing number of investors are betting against the stock, potentially leading to downward price pressure if the short squeeze does not materialize.
The company's negative return on equity of 24.57% in the most recent quarter, despite positive net margins, indicates potential inefficiencies in how the company is using its equity capital to generate profits, which could be a concern for value-focused investors who prioritize strong returns on invested capital.
While the stock has a low beta, it is currently trading below its 50-day moving average of $153.43 and its 200-day moving average of $155.53, suggesting that the stock is in a short-term downtrend and may face resistance from these technical levels, which could limit near-term upside potential for new investors.

YUM Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 21 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Yum! Brands is $174.65, with a high forecast of $190.00 and a low forecast of $158.00.

21 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Yum! Brands in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 7 hold ratings, 12 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" YUM shares.

According to analysts, Yum! Brands's stock has a predicted upside of 15.98% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Yum! Brands's stock had 2 downgrades and 1 upgrade by analysts.

Yum! Brands has been rated by research analysts at Argus, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Evercore, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Robert W. Baird, Royal Bank Of Canada, TD Cowen, UBS Group, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Yum! Brands more than other "consumer discretionary" companies. The consensus rating for Yum! Brands is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "consumer discretionary" companies is Hold. Learn more on how YUM compares to other companies.

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MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Yum! Brands analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 8/24/2026.

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Yum! Brands (YUM) Stock Forecast & Price Target