Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives $26.63 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.6316.

KHC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of KHC stock opened at $23.51 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $23.46 and a fifty-two week high of $33.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 0.09.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 17.35%. Equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -42.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. STF Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the second quarter. STF Management LP now owns 18,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 88,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after buying an additional 516 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 (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.