The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

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

Several research firms have recently commented on KHC. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 69.9% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $37.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.36. Kraft Heinz has a 52 week low of $30.68 and a 52 week high of $41.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.26%.

About Kraft Heinz

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.