Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

10 Feb 2026, 06:34 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on YUMC. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $58.50 price objective on shares of Yum China in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $63.64 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.05.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Yum China

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $57.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. Yum China has a 1 year low of $41.00 and a 1 year high of $58.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.24. The firm has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.13.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. Yum China had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 38.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, insider Jerry Ding sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total value of $165,420.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 915 shares in the company, valued at $50,453.10. The trade was a 76.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Warton Wang sold 8,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $395,268.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,261,773.16. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 21,242 shares of company stock valued at $1,043,817 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Yum China by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 150,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,172,000 after purchasing an additional 13,637 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Yum China by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC increased its position in Yum China by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 843,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,277,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in Yum China by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 7,854,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,959,000 after buying an additional 4,148,966 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Yum China Holdings, Inc operates as the largest quick-service restaurant company in China, through its ownership and franchising of brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company’s core business encompasses full-service and fast‐casual dining, takeout and delivery channels, as well as ancillary services including loyalty programs and digital ordering platforms. Yum China’s restaurants offer a diverse menu that adapts global brand concepts to local consumer preferences, featuring items such as soy‐marinated chicken, customized pizzas and region‐inspired side dishes.