Yum China (YUMC) is an Incredible Growth Stock: 3 Reasons Why

Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.That's because, these stocks usually carry above-average risk and volatility. In fact, betting on a stock for which the growth story is actually over or nearing its end could lead to significant loss.However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this restaurant operator in China a great growth pick right now.Earnings GrowthEarnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.While the historical EPS growth rate for Yum China is 5.7%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 15.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 5.4%.Impressive Asset Utilization RatioGrowth investors often overlook asset utilization ratio, also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, but it is an important feature of a real growth stock. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.Right now, Yum China has an S/TA ratio of 0.96, which means that the company gets $0.96 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.95, it can be said that the company is more efficient.While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Yum China is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 3.8% this year versus the industry average of 2.6%.Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsBeyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Yum China. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 4.1% over the past month.Bottom LineYum China has not only earned a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.This combination positions Yum China well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.Must-See: Solar Stocks Poised to SkyrocketThe solar industry stands to bounce back as tech companies and the economy transition away from fossil fuels to power the AI boom.Trillions of dollars will be invested in clean energy over the coming years – and analysts predict solar will account for 80% of the renewable energy expansion. This creates an outsized opportunity to profit in the near-term and for years to come. But you have to pick the right stocks to get into.Discover Zacks’ hottest solar stock recommendation FREE.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Yum China (YUMC): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks