The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KHC shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $33.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.78. Kraft Heinz has a 52 week low of $31.58 and a 52 week high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 43.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,760.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 655,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,008,000 after acquiring an additional 620,096 shares in the last quarter. River Global Investors LLP increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.6% during the third quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 58,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 1.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 58,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,053,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.