Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Trading Up 2.5 %

Yum China stock opened at $50.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.