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

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.67.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after buying an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 6,366,732 shares during the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,080,000. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 341.9% during the fourth quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 3,314,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.69 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a 52 week low of $27.25 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its 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 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. Research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

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.