Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.18.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUMC shares. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Yum China Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $43.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.01. Yum China has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.83.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.08. Yum China had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joey Wat bought 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.98 per share, with a total value of $129,124.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,274,637.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat bought 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.98 per share, for a total transaction of $129,124.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,944 shares in the company, valued at $9,274,637.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in Yum China by 413.0% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 44,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 35,663 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth about $1,474,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Yum China by 40.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 987,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,302,000 after buying an additional 286,307 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 27.4% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 255,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,523,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Yum China by 15.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 127,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 16,981 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.