Kraft Heinz Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Kraft Heinz options activity surged: Traders purchased 75,561 call options, about 172% above the typical volume of 27,735 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Kraft Heinz has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one Strong Buy, 12 Holds and five Sells; the average price target is $23.62 versus the stock’s $24.70 price.
• The company reported mixed fundamentals: Quarterly EPS and revenue exceeded estimates, but revenue declined 1.4% year over year. Kraft Heinz also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing a 6.5% annualized yield.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 75,561 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 172% compared to the typical volume of 27,735 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $426,471.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 102,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,474.35. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price target on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.62.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,197,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,226,429. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.64 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $28.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.77.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.18 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.10% and a negative net margin of 13.64%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.090 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is -55.94%.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source