Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $59.21

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.21.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YUMC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Yum China from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, insider Pingping Liu sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $53,790.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,322.45. This represents a 4.49% 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, insider Warton Wang sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $187,072.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,823 shares in the company, valued at $2,569,610.88. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $1,653,413. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $837,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Yum China by 54.4% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 36,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 42,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 15,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Yum China by 16.4% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 878,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,118,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock opened at $49.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.06. Yum China has a 12-month low of $39.72 and a 12-month high of $58.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.77 and a 200-day moving average of $46.86.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Yum China had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 40.28%.

About Yum China

Yum China Holdings operates quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC and Pizza Hut, along with local and regional brands such as Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang. The company was separated from Yum! Brands in 2016 and became an independent, publicly traded company. Its restaurants serve a range of meals and beverages, including fried chicken, burgers, pizza, hot pot and other Chinese-style dishes, as well as coffee. Yum China also offers delivery and digital ordering services through its apps and other platforms.