Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Down 4.2 %

YUMC opened at $47.24 on Monday. Yum China has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 27.47%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUMC. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 689.6% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.