Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $59.21 According to Brokerages

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.21.

Several analysts have commented on YUMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th.

Yum China Stock Down 0.8%

YUMC stock opened at $40.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 52 week low of $40.15 and a 52 week high of $58.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.88 and a 200 day moving average of $45.70.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. Yum China had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 42.49%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $696,043.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 63,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,032,176.52. This trade represents a 18.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,290.12. This represents a 76.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum China by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,606,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,135,000 after buying an additional 649,629 shares during the last quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the second quarter worth approximately $320,227,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at $280,656,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Yum China in the 2nd quarter valued at $146,826,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,251,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,782,000 after purchasing an additional 30,696 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc is a restaurant company that operates and franchises quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavasa, Huang Ji Huang, COFFii&JOY and East Dawning, offering products such as fried chicken, pizza, Mexican-inspired food, coffee and traditional Chinese cuisine.

KFC China and Pizza Hut China are the company’s principal brands, serving customers through restaurants, delivery and digital ordering channels.