Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.68.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Yum China Stock Up 1.1 %

YUMC stock opened at $48.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.09. Yum China has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.32%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.32%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Yum China by 43.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Yum China by 140.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors 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.