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 report released on Monday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE YUMC opened at $47.24 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.47. 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 has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.47%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $6,486,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 758,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,545,000 after acquiring an additional 97,360 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $325,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,405,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,045,000 after acquiring an additional 21,415 shares during the last quarter. 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.