Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.19. 2,893,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,446,372. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00. 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 (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $243,901,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,241,000 after buying an additional 4,969,073 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth about $203,179,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth approximately $199,722,000. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 350.7% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company's stock worth $189,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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.