Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,970,000 shares, a decline of 18.2% from the March 15th total of 10,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on YUMC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.33. The stock had a trading volume of 6,305,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,960,073. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.46.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is an increase 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 related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in Yum China by 5.3% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 60,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,130,000 after buying an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter worth about $990,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the first quarter worth approximately $253,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Company Profile

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.