Short Interest in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Drops By 13.7%

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,540,000 shares, a decrease of 13.7% from the August 31st total of 36,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $146,736.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,970 shares in the company, valued at $5,182,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at $3,592,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 21.4% during the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,101 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the second quarter valued at $3,443,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,200,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 1.6 %

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $35.37 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.87%.

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.