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

Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS.

Yum China Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Parthenon LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the third quarter valued at $243,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $296,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Yum China by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 17,898 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Yum China by 350.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.56. The firm has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36.

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.