The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Short Interest Up 11.6% in October

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 37,660,000 shares, an increase of 11.6% from the October 15th total of 33,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 249.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC opened at $31.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.42. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $30.40 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The firm has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

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.