Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $60.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $35.50.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Macquarie upgraded shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.68.

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $51.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.23. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.91 and a 200-day moving average of $36.76.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.32%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $407,849.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. 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.