Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:YUMC opened at $46.03 on Friday. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Yum China by 43.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Yum China by 906.5% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Yum China by 56.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.