Citigroup Downgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to Neutral

Citigroup lowered shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $28.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $34.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $29.25 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47. Kraft Heinz has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 143.4% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 245,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,620,000 after purchasing an additional 144,646 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 221.5% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at $340,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 11,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 775,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,234,000 after purchasing an additional 50,063 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kraft Heinz

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.