JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) to Underweight

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $22.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $24.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 11.29% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.16.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.0%

KHC opened at $24.80 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.08. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $21.99 and a fifty-two week high of $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.15.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $3,102,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 686,817 shares in the company, valued at $17,046,797.94. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,933,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,496,131,000 after purchasing an additional 616,283 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,376,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,197,438,000 after buying an additional 462,963 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 14.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,446,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392,470 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 1.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,855,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,953,000 after acquiring an additional 270,678 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,801,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,134,000 after acquiring an additional 106,970 shares during the period. 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.

About Kraft Heinz

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.