Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 56,095 call options on the company. This is an increase of 106% compared to the average volume of 27,280 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $26.58.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $25.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.86, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Kraft Heinz has a twelve month low of $23.70 and a twelve month high of $33.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.42.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 17.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 172.4% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 164.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 256.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.