Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $45.07, but opened at $49.81. Yum China shares last traded at $49.21, with a volume of 1,099,127 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on YUMC. Macquarie raised shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.18.

Yum China Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.40. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,608. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jeff Kuai acquired 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Warton Wang bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.67 per share, with a total value of $128,279.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,547.41. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Yum China by 906.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.