The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.55.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KHC. Barclays dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target 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.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of KHC opened at $30.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.61. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th 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 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at $411,304,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366,732 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944,019 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 387.7% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,455,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,712 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.