Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Kraft Heinz saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with 89,861 calls purchased—177% above its typical volume of 32,448 contracts.
• Institutional investors own 78.17% of KHC shares, with several firms increasing or initiating positions during the second quarter.
• The stock traded down to $22.73, while analysts maintain a “Reduce” consensus rating and an average price target of $23.88. Kraft Heinz reported quarterly revenue of $6.26 billion and EPS of $0.56, while its $0.40 quarterly dividend implies a 7.0% annual yield.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 89,861 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 177% compared to the typical volume of 32,448 call options.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the second quarter worth about $8,517,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 561,627 shares of the company's stock worth $13,266,000 after purchasing an additional 57,092 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.73. The company had a trading volume of 12,493,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,950,942. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $21.03 and a one year high of $28.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $25.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.95, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.09.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -55.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on KHC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kraft Heinz from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.88.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company NASDAQ: KHC is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures and markets packaged foods and beverages for consumers, retailers and foodservice customers. Its portfolio includes condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy products, meals, meats, snacks, beverages and other grocery items.

The company's brands include Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Capri Sun, Jell-O, Ore-Ida, Classico, Grey Poupon and Planters.

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.