Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Earns Underweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an underweight rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on KHC. UBS Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.73.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.95 and its 200 day moving average is $31.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 70.80%.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 176,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,431,000 after purchasing an additional 50,211 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,636,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,257,000 after buying an additional 12,320 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 109.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 155,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,779,000 after buying an additional 81,159 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.