Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 60,124 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 311% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,622 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KHC. Barclays upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.55.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $35.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.49. Kraft Heinz has a 52 week low of $31.08 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.38% and a net margin of 7.30%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $146,736.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,182,920. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the first quarter worth $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth $32,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 94.8% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 221.5% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.