Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Macquarie raised shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five research 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, Yum China has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.68.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock opened at $49.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.84.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released 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. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 28.32%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other Yum China news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $407,849.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. acquired 3,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at $407,849.12. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 53.7% in the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by 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.