Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually heavy call-option activity: Investors bought 90,356 KHC call options Monday, 159% above the average volume of 34,887.
• Kraft Heinz shares slipped $0.01 to $24.60. Quarterly results beat estimates, with EPS of $0.53 versus $0.42 expected and revenue of $6.12 billion versus $6.09 billion, though revenue fell 2% year over year.
• The company declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 6.5% yield at the reported share price. Analysts’ average rating was “Reduce,” with an average price target of $23.80.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 90,356 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 159% compared to the average volume of 34,887 call options.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $24.60. The company had a trading volume of 6,682,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,736,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.61, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.12. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $21.03 and a one year high of $28.09.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 13.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.10%. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -54.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KHC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.80.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% during the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 19.6% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.4% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 4,042 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.6% during the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,029 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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