Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on YUMC. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.68.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $51.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.76. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Yum China news, insider Warton Wang bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.67 per share, with a total value of $128,279.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,547.41. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,608. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 53.7% in the 2nd 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 period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 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.