Kraft Heinz Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 64,080 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 113% compared to the average volume of 30,020 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.67.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ KHC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.29. 11,979,981 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,864,895. Kraft Heinz has a 12-month low of $21.08 and a 12-month high of $31.15. The firm has a market cap of $25.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue 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, analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th 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 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is -32.39%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 9,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total transaction of $222,597.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,982,392.94. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 70.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About Kraft Heinz

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.