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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.68.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $47.66 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 firm has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.36. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 28.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 4,176.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 12,223,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,391,000 after buying an additional 3,389,987 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after buying an additional 3,270,560 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the first quarter worth $65,645,000. Hedge funds and other 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.