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

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 42,885 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 77% compared to the typical volume of 24,241 call options.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 2.5%

KHC stock opened at $27.14 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. The stock has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.37%. Kraft Heinz’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.90%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cfra Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. DZ Bank lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $324,857,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4,390.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,444,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,523,000 after buying an additional 7,278,295 shares in the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $87,080,000. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 341.9% in the fourth quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 3,314,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,773,000 after acquiring an additional 2,564,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.