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

Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.57.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 1.0 %

KHC stock opened at $36.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Kraft Heinz has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $41.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Miguel Patricio sold 131,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $4,999,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 992,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,717,702.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the first quarter valued at about $65,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 197.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 15,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 208.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 116,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,679,000 after buying an additional 78,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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.