The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,440,000 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the May 15th total of 21,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,689,662.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $32.92 on Tuesday. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.93 and a 200-day moving average of $36.25.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.08.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in North America and internationally. Its products include condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy products, meals, meats, refreshment beverages, coffee, and other grocery products under the Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Heinz, Philadelphia, Lunchables, Velveeta, Ore-Ida, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Heinz, ABC, Master, Quero, Kraft, Golden Circle, Wattie's, Pudliszki, and Plasmon brands.