Citigroup Downgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to Neutral

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $28.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $34.00. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho downgraded Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $28.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Kraft Heinz has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.94 and its 200-day moving average is $32.77.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 50,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares in the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 13,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,885 shares in the last quarter. 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.