StockNews.com Downgrades Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) to Hold

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have 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 target price for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE:YUMC traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.03. 2,681,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,168,571. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Yum China by 1.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Yum China by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.