Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $53.31 and last traded at $53.18, with a volume of 1068135 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.69.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Equities analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Yum China by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its position in shares of Yum China by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 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.