Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Strong Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) have earned a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.70.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $46.13 on Wednesday. Yum China has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.55 and its 200-day moving average is $47.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth $29,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Yum China by 4,915.4% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors 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.