Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $30.98 and last traded at $31.13, with a volume of 1235656 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on KHC shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.46.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.14%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $411,304,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 16.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,898,000 after buying an additional 6,366,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 83.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,709,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,388,000 after buying an additional 3,961,872 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,821,000 after buying an additional 1,944,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,263 shares in the last quarter. 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.