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 research note published on Friday morning.

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

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of Yum China stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.21. 2,767,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,972,201. Yum China has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum China by 4.4% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Yum China by 1.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.