Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $47.49, but opened at $46.39. Yum China shares last traded at $47.23, with a volume of 361,466 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.18.

Yum China Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.36 and its 200 day moving average is $35.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.08. Yum China had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat acquired 3,800 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.98 per share, with a total value of $129,124.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,944 shares in the company, valued at $9,274,637.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Warton Wang bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.67 per share, with a total value of $128,279.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,547.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat purchased 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.98 per share, for a total transaction of $129,124.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,274,637.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Yum China by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Yum China by 62.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.