Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

YUMC has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.21.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $42.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 1 year low of $39.72 and a 1 year high of $58.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.13 and a 200-day moving average of $44.96.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. Yum China had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 42.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $696,043.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,176.52. This represents a 18.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,589 shares in the company, valued at $357,290.12. This trade represents a 76.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. W1M Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Yum China during the 2nd quarter worth about $320,227,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 2nd quarter valued at about $146,826,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,255,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the second quarter valued at about $76,294,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the second quarter valued at about $61,637,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc is a restaurant company that operates and franchises quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavasa, Huang Ji Huang, COFFii&JOY and East Dawning, offering products such as fried chicken, pizza, Mexican-inspired food, coffee and traditional Chinese cuisine.

KFC China and Pizza Hut China are the company’s principal brands, serving customers through restaurants, delivery and digital ordering channels.