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

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $49.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.30. The company has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth about $281,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 22.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,446,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,119,000 after purchasing an additional 260,493 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth approximately $280,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth approximately $21,173,000. 85.58% of the stock is 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.