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

Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.1875.

KHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Evercore set a $23.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $426,471.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 102,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,366,474.35. This represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graney & King LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 14,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $26.22 on Thursday. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $29.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.59.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.89 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 23.05%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -32.92%.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.