Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.48 and last traded at $28.74, with a volume of 968866 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KHC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.58.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 1.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, 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 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 analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 12,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 10,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.