Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $46.59, but opened at $45.01. Yum China shares last traded at $44.96, with a volume of 372,560 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.96. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is 28.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 351,038 shares of the company's stock worth $10,826,000 after acquiring an additional 5,906 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 140.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 932,527 shares of the company's stock worth $28,764,000 after buying an additional 154,485 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 212.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 9,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its position in Yum China by 24.0% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 166,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,133,000 after acquiring an additional 32,200 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.