Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Short Interest Update

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,590,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the November 30th total of 13,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 140.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Yum China by 56.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $49.10 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.51. The company has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. Yum China has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

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.