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

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 35,699 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 44% compared to the typical volume of 24,854 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.86.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

NASDAQ KHC traded up $0.90 on Friday, reaching $32.18. 15,741,101 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,335,693. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $38.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. Kraft Heinz has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

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.