Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of KHC stock opened at $28.92 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. 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.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after acquiring an additional 14,996,486 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 6,366,732 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,745,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,644,000 after purchasing an additional 595,406 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $411,304,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth about $324,857,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by 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.