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

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)’s stock price 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YUMC. Macquarie upgraded Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.18.

Yum China Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.40.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai purchased 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,088 shares in the company, valued at $407,849.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai purchased 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 27.8% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Yum China during the first quarter worth approximately $101,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Yum China by 58.0% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 584,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,128,000 after purchasing an additional 214,420 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,074,000. 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.