StockNews.com Downgrades Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) to Hold

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC opened at $47.99 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.53. Yum China has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $52.00.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China by 906.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Yum China by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.