Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a bearish consensus: Kraft Heinz is rated “Reduce,” with five sell ratings, 11 holds and one buy. The average 12-month price target is $23.75.
• Recent performance remains mixed: The stock opened at $21.86, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while quarterly earnings and revenue exceeded estimates; however, revenue fell 1.4% year over year and net margin was negative.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and other institutions own 78.17% of the shares, with several major investors—including BlackRock, Nykredit and Deutsche Bank—adding new positions. Kraft Heinz also maintains a $0.40 quarterly dividend, equating to a 7.3% annualized yield.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter worth about $1,803,911,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3,034.1% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,477,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,957,000 after buying an additional 15,951,271 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $181,408,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $179,876,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $170,097,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $21.86 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.95. Kraft Heinz has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $28.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 13.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.10%. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.090 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -55.94%.

About Kraft Heinz

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

The company's brands include Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Capri Sun, Jell-O, Ore-Ida, Classico, Grey Poupon and Planters.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.