Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Yum China Q1 Earnings

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Yum China in a note issued to investors on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.79 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.83. The consensus estimate for Yum China’s current full-year earnings is $2.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum China’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.54 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.42 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.91 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.91 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.33 EPS.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly 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%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Four research 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 stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $46.62 on Monday. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.75. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 27.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after buying an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth about $2,177,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Yum China by 100.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 17,898 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Yum China by 21.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,510,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,017,000 after acquiring an additional 441,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.