Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to "Moderate Buy"

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Kraft Heinz to “moderate buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Reduce,” with a $23.88 average price target.
• Kraft Heinz reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, beating estimates of $0.53, while revenue reached $6.26 billion. However, revenue declined 1.4% year over year and EPS fell from $0.69 in the prior-year quarter.
• The stock opened at $24.42, with a market capitalization of approximately $28.96 billion; institutional investors own 78.17% of outstanding shares.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.88.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $24.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.54, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.09. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $21.03 and a 52-week high of $28.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.97.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 13.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.10%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.090 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the second quarter worth $8,517,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 561,627 shares of the company's stock worth $13,266,000 after acquiring an additional 57,092 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 6.6% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 5.6% in the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,029 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company NASDAQ: KHC is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products for consumers, retailers, foodservice operators and other customers. Its portfolio includes condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy products, meals, meats, beverages, snacks and other packaged foods.

The company's well-known brands include Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta, Lunchables, Capri Sun, Jell-O, Maxwell House and Classico, among others.

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