Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.6471.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KHC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. DZ Bank raised Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $25.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $24.80 and a 52-week high of $36.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.19. The firm has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.16.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%.The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is -35.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,468 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth approximately $786,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 27,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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.