The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Short Interest Down 13.7% in September

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

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 14,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 12,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.5% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 109,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. 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 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $35.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.05. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $30.68 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap 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.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

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

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.