Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.7647.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KHC shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $697,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 109.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 155,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 81,159 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 176,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,431,000 after acquiring an additional 50,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the first quarter valued at approximately $299,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $25.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Kraft Heinz has a 12 month low of $25.44 and a 12 month high of $36.31. The company has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a PE ratio of -5.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.76.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 20.83% and a positive return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.510-2.670 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

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.