Zacks Research Estimates Yum China’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:YUMC)

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Yum China in a report issued 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 forecast 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.

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

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $53.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.43. Yum China has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth about $243,901,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,969,073 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,179,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,722,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 399.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.