Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Stock Price

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) had its target price lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $34.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.15% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on KHC. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.43.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.66. 5,686,452 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,054,796. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $35.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.48. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $28.37 and a 1 year high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 47.9% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 4,714 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 79.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 209,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,752,000 after buying an additional 92,495 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 70,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.3% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 51,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,000 after buying an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.