Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with three sell ratings and fifteen hold ratings, and a one-year price target averaging $30.35.
• In recent insider activity, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares at an average price of $27.91, resulting in a significant reduction of 38.46% in his ownership stake.
• Kraft Heinz declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which represents a 5.9% yield, to be paid on September 26th to shareholders of record by August 29th.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.3529.

KHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Insider Activity

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,400. This trade represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 26,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 10,977 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 74.3% in the second quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 90,053 shares of the company's stock worth $2,325,000 after purchasing an additional 38,390 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 17.2% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 105,081 shares of the company's stock worth $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 15,393 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at $336,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 13.1% in the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 295,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,630,000 after buying an additional 34,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.26 on Thursday. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $25.44 and a 52-week high of $36.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.07, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

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.

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