Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.21.

Several brokerages have recently commented on YUMC. Wall Street Zen lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research note on Friday, August 21st.

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $44.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.69. Yum China has a 52 week low of $39.72 and a 52 week high of $58.39.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 42.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,290.12. This trade represents a 76.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $696,043.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 63,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,176.52. This trade represents a 18.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. W1M Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Yum China during the second quarter worth about $320,227,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter valued at about $146,826,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,255,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,294,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,637,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc is a restaurant company focused on operating and developing quick-service and casual-dining brands in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company serves customers across mainland China through a large network of company-owned and franchised restaurants, supported by digital ordering, delivery and loyalty platforms.

Its principal brands include KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, for which Yum China holds the exclusive rights to operate and franchise restaurants in China.