Kraft Heinz Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 83,191 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 165% compared to the typical volume of 31,365 call options.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of KHC stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,722,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,288,333. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $21.03 and a one year high of $28.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.97.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.10% and a negative net margin of 13.64%.The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.090 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is -55.94%.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $426,471.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 102,667 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,474.35. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 20,690 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 16.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 51,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 0.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 522,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,482,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the second quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KHC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Kraft Heinz from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $24.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products for consumers, retailers, foodservice operators and other customers. Its portfolio includes condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy products, meals, meats, beverages, snacks and other packaged foods.

The company’s well-known brands include Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta, Lunchables, Capri Sun, Jell-O, Maxwell House and Classico, among others.