Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $45.07, but opened at $49.81. Yum China shares last traded at $49.21, with a volume of 1,099,127 shares traded.

The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 28.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie upgraded Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum China has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Warton Wang acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.67 per share, for a total transaction of $128,279.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 25,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,547.41. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Yum China news, insider Warton Wang acquired 3,700 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.67 per share, for a total transaction of $128,279.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,547.41. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.74 per share, for a total transaction of $101,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $407,849.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its holdings in Yum China by 38.4% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 12,223,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,391,000 after acquiring an additional 3,389,987 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Yum China by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,967,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,073,000 after purchasing an additional 121,617 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 56.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 4,394,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,859 shares during the period. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Yum China by 350.7% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after buying an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.56.

About Yum China

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.