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

Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.86.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KHC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 143.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 221.5% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth $213,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth $340,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 17.3% during the third 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 last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $28.92 on Thursday. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $34.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.72.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is 144.14%.

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.