Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $30.09 and last traded at $30.58, with a volume of 2527673 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KHC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.55.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.77 and its 200 day moving average is $33.69. The firm has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $411,304,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,898,000 after buying an additional 6,366,732 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944,019 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,263 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 387.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,455,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,712 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by 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.