Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.1250.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th.

Key Kraft Heinz News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kraft Heinz this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kraft Heinz announced a multiyear strategic alliance with The Walt Disney Company that makes KHC an exclusive supplier of select condiments, macaroni and cheese, and cream cheese across Disney’s North American theme parks, resorts, and cruise lines, while also adding character licensing and co-marketing opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The Disney deal could give Kraft Heinz more brand visibility and help revitalize key products like Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia through broader consumer exposure in parks, cruises, and media. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that investors are not yet changing earnings expectations because the alliance is viewed as a branding and marketing win more than a near-term profit driver. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation-focused coverage continues to frame KHC as potentially undervalued, but that thesis depends on the company proving it can translate brand partnerships and other initiatives into better sales momentum. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate commentary warns that Kraft Heinz, along with other big food names, is losing its grip on shoppers, with recent efforts such as lower prices and protein-focused product changes failing to meaningfully reverse weak consumer engagement. Article Title

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC opened at $25.96 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $29.19. The stock has a market cap of $30.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 0.09.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 23.05%.The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. Analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -32.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $426,471.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 102,667 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,474.35. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,933,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,496,131,000 after purchasing an additional 616,283 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,725,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,310 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3,034.1% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,477,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,957,000 after purchasing an additional 15,951,271 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,382,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,893,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,922,000 after purchasing an additional 341,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.