Kraft Heinz Sees Mixed Results Amidst Market Challenges
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, remains a prominent player in the food and beverage industry. Crafting a wide range of products such as sauces, cheeses, meals, meats, and coffee, Kraft Heinz holds a market capitalization of $40.4 billion. Its operations span North America and beyond.
Stock Performance Lags Behind the Market
Kraft Heinz has struggled to keep pace with broader market trends over the last year. In the past 52 weeks, KHC shares have only made modest gains compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) impressive growth of 31.1%. Year-to-date in 2024, KHC dipped 9.7%, while the SPX gained 19.8% during the same period.
Additionally, when looking specifically at the Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF’s (FTXG) performance, KHC has not fared well. The ETF saw an increase of 4.9% in the last year, posing further challenges for Kraft Heinz.
Recent Earnings Report Shows Mixed Results
On October 30, Kraft Heinz announced its Q3 earnings, resulting in a 3.1% drop in shares. The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.75 per share, slightly above analyst expectations of $0.74. However, revenue was recorded at $6.38 billion, just below the forecast of $6.41 billion. For the full year, the company anticipates earnings between $3.01 and $3.07 per share.
For the fiscal year ending in December, analysts predict a modest year-over-year EPS growth of 1%, bringing it to $3.01. Notably, Kraft Heinz has outperformed consensus EPS expectations in all four of its quarterly reports thus far.
Market Sentiment and Analyst Ratings
Of the 17 analysts evaluating KHC stock, the overall rating is a “Moderate Buy,” reflecting six “Strong Buy” recommendations, ten “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.” This assessment is slightly less optimistic than a month ago when eight analysts had rated the stock as a “Strong Buy.”
On November 1, Barclays PLC (BCS) adjusted its price target for Kraft Heinz, reducing it from $36 to $35 while maintaining an “Equal-Weight” rating on the shares. The current mean price target for KHC is $36.41, indicating a premium of 9.1%. Notably, the highest target of $41 suggests a potential upside of 22.8% from current levels.
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On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
