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

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.23.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity

In other Kraft Heinz news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 408.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 586,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 471,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 47.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,263 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the second quarter worth $353,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 59,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.4% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 166,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,351,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $35.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.21. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $28.37 and a 52-week high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted 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. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

About Kraft Heinz

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.