Wall Street Zen Downgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to Hold

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

KHC has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Kraft Heinz from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.62.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $25.32 on Friday. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $28.10. The firm has a market cap of $30.02 billion, a PE ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.76.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.18 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 13.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.090 EPS. Analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other news, insider Diana Frost sold 18,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $426,471.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 102,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,366,474.35. The trade was a 15.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,933,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,496,131,000 after buying an additional 616,283 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,168,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,595,000 after buying an additional 1,295,688 shares in the last quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth $1,222,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,224,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,183,000 after acquiring an additional 397,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,359,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,960,000 after acquiring an additional 125,307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Kraft Heinz this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Kraft Heinz reported Q2 sales of approximately $6.26 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.56, ahead of consensus estimates of $6.18 billion and $0.53, respectively. The company also maintained its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook of $2.03–$2.09. Kraft Heinz Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates Despite Organic Sales Dip
• Positive Sentiment: Early signs of stabilization are encouraging: Management said consumption trends and market share are improving, with losses narrowing to 30 basis points. Kraft Heinz plans to add $100 million in second-half marketing investment to support brand momentum and pursue volume-led growth in 2027. KHC Q2 Earnings Call Raises Brand Spending on Early Traction
• Positive Sentiment: Credit outlook improved: JPMorgan upgraded Kraft Heinz’s credit recommendation to Overweight, citing better results, disciplined balance-sheet management and confidence that the company can fund brand investment while controlling leverage. JPMorgan Upgrades Kraft Heinz Credit to Overweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Income support remains intact: Kraft Heinz declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, preserving an annualized payout of $1.60. The high yield may attract income investors, although it also reflects concerns about the company’s growth and valuation. 3 Big Dividends and One Case Study in How a Yield Trap Ends
• Negative Sentiment: Headline results were severely distorted: Kraft Heinz posted a net loss of roughly $5.46 billion, primarily because of goodwill and intangible-asset impairment charges totaling about $7.4 billion. Although noncash, the write-down highlights weaker expectations for certain brands and weighs on confidence. Kraft Heinz Is Down After Massive Impairment-Fueled Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Turnaround costs and weak demand remain risks: Organic sales declined, while inflation, lower volumes and increased marketing and innovation spending are expected to make 2026 the company’s margin trough. Analysts therefore characterize the recovery as promising but cautious rather than established. Kraft Heinz Earnings Call Signals Cautious Turnaround

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.