Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 53,819 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the average volume of 28,777 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.89.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of KHC stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $24.35. The stock had a trading volume of 7,274,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,286,612. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.00 and its 200-day moving average is $25.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.93 and a beta of 0.06. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $21.99 and a 52-week high of $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.39%.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,480.94. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,249.42. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $3,102,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,046,797.94. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 139,036 shares of company stock worth $3,446,578. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 192.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 81,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after acquiring an additional 53,467 shares in the last quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 45.4% during the second quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 4,884,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,000 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth $4,678,000. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth $12,923,000. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,655,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.