Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.60 and last traded at $23.6650, with a volume of 3063323 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KHC has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $26.63.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.97.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter. The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently -42.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $3,102,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 686,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 898,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,353,000 after purchasing an additional 11,121 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the first quarter valued at $858,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 94,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 6,170.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,294 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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.