Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Receives $51.68 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.68.

Several brokerages have recently commented on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $49.57 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 140.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

About Yum China

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.