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

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

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $48.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.02 and a 200 day moving average of $39.02. The company has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 53.7% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 140.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.