The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.86.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 14.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,097,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,519,000 after purchasing an additional 138,101 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 1.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 97,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.6% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 26,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 36.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 41,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 11,185 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $30.23 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.86 and a 200-day moving average of $32.09. 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 twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.80%.

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.