Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 1.76% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on KHC. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.73.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Kraft Heinz has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 52,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after acquiring an additional 9,833 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 34.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 96,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 24,606 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 232.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 38,132 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 486,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,086,000 after buying an additional 25,444 shares during the last quarter. 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.