Brokerages Set The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Target Price at $40.57

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.57.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $38.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.67. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $30.68 and a 1-year high of $41.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,398,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,603,349,000 after acquiring an additional 183,234 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,369,080 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 7.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,580,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,216,000 after purchasing an additional 850,326 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 27.1% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,263,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,120,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,797,000 after purchasing an additional 324,450 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.