Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.8889.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $24.61 on Monday. Kraft Heinz has a twelve month low of $21.99 and a twelve month high of $33.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.98 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.08.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 23.44%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -32.39%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 20,690 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 64.9% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 6,931 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 7.2% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,899,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,858,000 after buying an additional 195,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 9.7% in the second quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 41,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 3,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.