Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Reduce" on Kraft Heinz from 22 firms (3 sell, 18 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $26.63.
• The stock trades around $24.39 (50-day $24.64, 200-day $25.98) and shows profitability concerns with a negative P/E (-6.54) and a negative net margin despite $6.39B quarterly revenue.
• Kraft Heinz pays a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60) for a 6.6% yield

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.6316.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ KHC opened at $24.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.98. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $23.60 and a one year high of $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 0.09.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 17.35% and a positive return on equity of 7.26%. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -42.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This trade represents a 15.40% 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 hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at about $118,000. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 103.6% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 364,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,482,000 after acquiring an additional 185,291 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 161.3% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 90,255 shares of the company's stock worth $2,346,000 after buying an additional 55,718 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 34.3% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,221 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth $935,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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