The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives $40.57 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.57.

A number of analysts have recently commented on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,835.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,527,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $794,964,000 after acquiring an additional 18,518,584 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 96.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,312,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,537,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,224,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,601,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $827,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,080 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 86.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,627,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,671,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $37.78. The company had a trading volume of 9,117,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,138,727. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $30.68 and a 1 year high of $41.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.87 and its 200 day moving average is $35.36. The company has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.67.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently 69.26%.

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.