The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.55.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.98. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $31.08 and a 1-year high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.87%.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $146,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 143,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,182,920. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,398,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,603,349,000 after buying an additional 183,234 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,107,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,450,000 after acquiring an additional 189,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,064,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,061,000 after purchasing an additional 799,581 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,709,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 47.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.