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

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

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

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $49.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Yum China by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Yum China by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. 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.