Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Trading 5.1% Higher - Still a Buy?

Shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) shot up 5.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.84 and last traded at $48.10. 528,649 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,879,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.37 and a 200 day moving average of $46.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Yum China by 26.7% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in Yum China by 0.3% during the second quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 226,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,135,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Yum China by 3.9% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 221,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 2.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 37,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Yum China during the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 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.