StockNews.com Upgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $30.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. Kraft Heinz has a 52 week low of $27.25 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.20.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.28%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is 70.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 97,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 36.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 58,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,053,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.