Yum China (YUMC) Competitors

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) and Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) are both large-cap restaurants, hotels, motels companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in YUMC or HLT?

85.6% of Yum China shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of Hilton Worldwide shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Yum China shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Hilton Worldwide shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, YUMC or HLT?

Yum China has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilton Worldwide has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, YUMC or HLT?

Hilton Worldwide has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Yum China. Yum China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hilton Worldwide, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Yum China	$11.30B	1.52	$911M	$2.39	19.34
Hilton Worldwide	$11.17B	5.73	$1.54B	$6.34	42.48

Is YUMC or HLT more profitable?

Hilton Worldwide has a net margin of 13.90% compared to Yum China's net margin of 8.09%. Yum China's return on equity of 14.08% beat Hilton Worldwide's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Yum China	8.09%	14.08%	8.05%
Hilton Worldwide	13.90%	-49.50%	11.13%

Does the media favor YUMC or HLT?

In the previous week, Hilton Worldwide had 15 more articles in the media than Yum China. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for Hilton Worldwide and 16 mentions for Yum China. Yum China's average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat Hilton Worldwide's score of 1.14 indicating that Yum China is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Yum China	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hilton Worldwide	20 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend YUMC or HLT?

Yum China currently has a consensus price target of $48.70, suggesting a potential upside of 5.34%. Hilton Worldwide has a consensus price target of $249.06, suggesting a potential downside of 7.53%. Given Yum China's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Yum China is more favorable than Hilton Worldwide.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Yum China	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Hilton Worldwide	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53

Is YUMC or HLT a better dividend stock?

Yum China pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hilton Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Yum China pays out 40.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilton Worldwide pays out 9.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Yum China has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Yum China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Hilton Worldwide beats Yum China on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.