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

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.68.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $47.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.61 and its 200-day moving average is $37.15. 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.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 4,176.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 38.4% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 12,223,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,391,000 after buying an additional 3,389,987 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Yum China by 350.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter worth $65,645,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

About Yum China

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.