Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on KHC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $29.00 price target on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.12.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 2.0%

KHC opened at $28.06 on Wednesday. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.21 billion, a PE ratio of -6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.510-2.670 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the first quarter worth $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 141.7% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 172.4% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.