Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Given Average Rating of “Strong Buy” by Brokerages

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) has earned an average rating of “Strong Buy” from the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.70.

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 689.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. SouthState Corp grew its position in shares of Yum China by 4,915.4% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC opened at $44.72 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.