Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $45.52, but opened at $48.99. Yum China shares last traded at $48.65, with a volume of 182,736 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on YUMC shares. StockNews.com raised Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.17. The firm has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. On average, analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum China

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Yum China by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $1,653,000. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at about $682,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. 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.