Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Raised to “Overweight” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Piper Sandler currently has $42.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KHC. Bank of America lifted 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 initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a buy rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.08.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC opened at $35.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.18. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $30.68 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.43 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 10.62%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 158,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,689,662.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 12,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 14,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 14,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.