Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.70 and last traded at $51.35, with a volume of 166184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on YUMC. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum China has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.68.

Yum China Stock Up 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.65.

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 net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for 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 revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other Yum China news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,849.12. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. purchased 3,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at $407,849.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat acquired 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.98 per share, for a total transaction of $129,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,944 shares in the company, valued at $9,274,637.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Yum China by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 987,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,302,000 after acquiring an additional 286,307 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 255,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 127,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 16,981 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 266,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,585,000 after acquiring an additional 36,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 294.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 513,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,384,000 after acquiring an additional 383,160 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.