Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.65.

YUMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Yum China in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,421,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,800,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Yum China has a 1 year low of $33.55 and a 1 year high of $64.70. The company has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.59.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Yum China by 788.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,628,571 shares of the company's stock worth $787,029,000 after purchasing an additional 14,757,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $265,777,000. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 8,088.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,212,482 shares of the company's stock worth $214,452,000 after buying an additional 3,173,249 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Yum China by 23,769.2% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,165,531 shares of the company's stock worth $134,313,000 after buying an additional 3,152,269 shares during the period. Finally, PBCay One RSC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $42,891,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.