Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

KHC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.53.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $21.89 on Tuesday. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $30.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.00. The company has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is -32.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 9,045 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total transaction of $222,597.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 202,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,982,392.94. The trade was a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.