Piper Sandler Cuts Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Price Target to $26.00

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) had its target price trimmed by Piper Sandler from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on KHC. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.21.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.0%

KHC opened at $24.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $25.31. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $21.99 and a fifty-two week high of $33.35. The company has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.08.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is -32.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $332,382,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 75.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,694,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873,967 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,446,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,392,470 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,645.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,880,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,549,000 after buying an additional 1,772,581 shares during the period. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 45.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 4,884,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,056,000 after buying an additional 1,525,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Kraft Heinz News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a meaningful quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~6.6%; ex‑dividend March 6). Stable, high yield supports income-focused investors and can cushion downside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying: traders purchased ~58,273 KHC calls (≈99% above average), indicating short‑term bullish/speculative positioning that can amplify upside volume and volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Kraft Heinz is increasing investments: management forecast ~ $950M capital spending for 2026 and has committed ~$600M to revive growth — this signals a shift to reinvest in brands but raises near‑term execution questions. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: Sanford Bernstein raised its PT to $27 while Deutsche Bank trimmed its PT to $23; other shops issued varying revisions (Piper Sandler, Barclays, Evercore, BNP). The mixed guidance reflects uncertainty and explains volatile price reactions. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some sell-side research is bearish: Seeking Alpha published a negative note calling the “catalyst” gone after a weak quarter, impairment charges and brand declines — a narrative that can pressure investor confidence. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major downgrades: JPMorgan downgraded KHC to underweight with a $22 PT, signaling limited near‑term upside after the breakup pause — a clear negative for sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional downside pressure from price‑target cuts at Evercore and BNP Paribas (to $22 and $20 respectively) and continued concerns over slowing sales, a large impairment and margin pressure following Q4 results. Read More. • Read More.

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.