The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Short Interest Update

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,410,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the March 15th total of 20,990,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KHC shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 69.9% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $41.47. The company has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.26%.

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.