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

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

Yum China stock opened at $46.23 on Friday. Yum China has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Yum China by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Yum China during the third quarter valued at $103,000. Institutional investors 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.