Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Given Consensus Rating of "Strong Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Strong Buy" from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.70.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 50,003 shares of the company's stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum China by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 5.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Yum China by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company's stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE YUMC traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,897,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,918,250. Yum China has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $45.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.95.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.