The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Short Interest Update

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,380,000 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the January 15th total of 40,330,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 10,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KHC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.6 %

KHC stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,568,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,954,056. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 70.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.