Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.65.

Separately, HSBC decreased their price objective on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 234,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,345,000 after purchasing an additional 56,579 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Yum China by 413.0% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 44,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 35,663 shares during the last quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the first quarter valued at $12,074,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Yum China by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 190,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,598,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Trading Up 2.8 %

YUMC opened at $38.41 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.64 and its 200-day moving average is $41.16. The company has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. Yum China has a 1-year low of $33.55 and a 1-year high of $64.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Yum China had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

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.