Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) manufactures and markets food and beverage products. With a market cap of $32.8 billion, the company distributes dairy products, sauces, flavored milk powders, and other products.
Shares of this food giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. KHC has declined 7.4% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 16.9%. However, in 2026, KHC stock is up 8.8%, slightly surpassing the SPX’s 8.7% gains on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, KHC’s underperformance is also apparent compared to First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 3.6% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF’s 11.3% gains on a YTD basis outshine the stock’s single-digit returns over the same time frame.
KHC continues to underperform as persistent volume declines and weak organic sales force management to heavily reinvest in marketing, product innovation, and price adjustments to stem market share losses to private-label alternatives. While intended to revitalize core brands, these elevated expenditures combined with elevated input costs are significantly squeezing operating margins and dimming near-term earnings growth. This margin pressure, coupled with technical drag from major institutional sell-offs and debt rating scrutiny, leaves investors cautious despite the stock's high dividend yield.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect KHC’s EPS to decline 20.4% to $2.07 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 19 analysts covering KHC stock, the consensus is a “Hold.” That’s based on one “Strong Buy” rating, 14 “Holds,” one “Moderate Sell,” and three “Strong Sells.”
This configuration is less bearish than a month ago, with four analysts suggesting a “Strong Sell.”
On Jul. 24, Scott Marks CFA from Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) reiterated a “Hold” rating on KHC, with a price target of $24.
While KHC currently trades above its mean price target of $23.59, the Street-high price target of $28 suggests an upside potential of 6.1%.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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