Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Receives $48.70 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Strong Buy" by the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities 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 brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.70.

Several research analysts have commented on YUMC shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:YUMC traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.49. 3,986,900 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,936,939. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $53.99.

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Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum China by 689.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Yum China in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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.