The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Short Interest Up 23.9% in August

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,560,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the August 15th total of 29,510,000 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $146,736.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,182,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,200,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.7% during the second quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 60,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 6,805 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 387,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,482,000 after buying an additional 9,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC opened at $35.63 on Tuesday. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $30.68 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.