Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Stock Rating Lowered by Sanford C. Bernstein

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $31.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $34.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.69.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $30.13 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.05 and a 200 day moving average of $30.99. The company has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 595,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth approximately $324,857,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,200 shares during the period. 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.