Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• The Kraft Heinz Company has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from nineteen research firms, with three firms recommending to sell and sixteen to hold the stock.
• Kraft Heinz reported $0.69 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but its quarterly revenue declined by 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 5.7% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.7647.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res raised Kraft Heinz to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,874,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,593,841. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.23.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%.The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.510-2.670 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,435,702 shares of the company's stock worth $2,644,890,000 after buying an additional 454,868 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,376,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,197,438,000 after buying an additional 462,963 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,446,203 shares of the company's stock worth $681,663,000 after buying an additional 3,392,470 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,584,674 shares of the company's stock worth $454,036,000 after buying an additional 1,171,262 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 2nd quarter worth about $276,159,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.