Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Trading Down 5.6% - What's Next?

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $42.39 and last traded at $42.27. 245,346 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,921,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.70.

Yum China Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.02.

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

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, 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. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Yum China by 4,915.4% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 652 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.