Kraft Heinz Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:KHC)

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 35,421 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 68% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,088 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.55.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.4 %

KHC opened at $30.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.52. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.48.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. Kraft Heinz’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors 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.