Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.1875.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.62 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day moving average is $23.65. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $29.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.68 and a beta of 0.09.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.92%.

More Kraft Heinz News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kraft Heinz this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential earnings beat: Analysts expect Kraft Heinz to benefit from favorable earnings estimates and its history of exceeding consensus forecasts. The company is scheduled to report before the market opens on August 5. Kraft Heinz Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Improving market-share trends: Investors are watching for evidence that recent market-share gains are translating into more sustainable consumer demand, which could support revenue and earnings expectations if confirmed. Kraft Heinz Earnings in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Results remain the key catalyst: UBS forecasts adjusted earnings per share of $0.52, slightly below the roughly $0.53 Visible Alpha and FactSet consensus. This leaves room for a beat but also raises the bar for management commentary on demand, pricing and guidance. Kraft Heinz Earnings Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-relative performance: Kraft Heinz advanced in the latest session even as the broader market declined, but reports noted that it underperformed certain industry peers. This suggests the move was supported more by company-specific earnings expectations than by broad sector momentum. Kraft Heinz Ascends While Market Falls

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $426,471.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 102,667 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,474.35. This represents a 15.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3,034.1% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,477,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,957,000 after purchasing an additional 15,951,271 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at $332,382,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,973,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926,141 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 94.8% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,347,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,990,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.