Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Yum China Q1 Earnings

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Yum China in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.78 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.79. The consensus estimate for Yum China’s current full-year earnings is $2.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum China’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.77 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.94 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.90 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.31 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $51.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.71 and a 200-day moving average of $46.55.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter worth $2,177,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth about $809,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

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.