Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

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

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC opened at $48.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 27.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% 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.