Kraft Heinz was one of the market's biggest losers today, losing 3.9% of its value and underperforming both the S&P500 and Dow Industrial composite indices by 0.0%. The large-cap Consumer Staples company ended the day at $31.18, closing in on its 52 week high low of $31.12 and is 21.55% below its average target price of $39.75. Over the last 12 months, Kraft Heinz is down -11.0%, and has underperformed the S&P 500 by 31.0%. The stock has an average analyst rating of hold.
Kraft Heinz has a trailing 12 month price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.2, which corresponds to its share price divided by its trailing earnings per share (EPS) of $2.56. The company's forward P/E ratio is 10.4 based on its forward EPS of $2.99.
Earnings refer to the net income of the company from its sales operations, and the P/E ratio tells us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of these earnings. By way of comparison, the Consumer Staples sector has historically had an average P/E ratio of 24.36. Whether the company's P/E ratio is within a high or low range tells us how investors are currently valuing the stock's earning potential, but it doesn't tell us how its price will move in the future.
We can also understand a stock's valuation by looking at its Price to Book (P/B) Ratio, which is its share price divided by its book value per share. The book value refers to the present value of the company if it were liquidated today. Kraft Heinz's P/B ratio of 0.77 indicates that the market value of the company is less than its market value, which indicates the company is potentially undervalued.
To understand Kraft Heinz's business, and therefore its attractiveness as a potential investment, we must analyze its margins in two steps. First, we look at its gross margins, which take into account only the direct cost of providing the product or service to the customer. This enables us to determine whether the company benefits from an advantageous market position:
| Date Reported | Revenue ($ k) | Cost of Revenue ($ k) | Gross Margins (%) | YoY Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-16 | 26,485,000 | -18,363,000 | 31 | -6.06 |
| 2022-02-17 | 26,042,000 | -17,360,000 | 33 | -5.71 |
| 2021-02-17 | 26,185,000 | -17,008,000 | 35 | 6.06 |
| 2020-02-14 | 24,977,000 | -16,830,000 | 33 | -2.94 |
| 2019-06-07 | 26,268,000 | -17,347,000 | 34 | -2.86 |
| 2018-02-16 | 26,076,000 | -17,043,000 | 35 |
- Average gross margins: 33.5 %
- Average gross margins growth rate: -0.2 %
- Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicate more stability): 4.5 %
Next, we consider the Kraft Heinz's operating margins, which take into account overhead. This tells us whether the company's business model is fundamentally profitable or not:
| Date Reported | Total Revenue ($ k) | Operating Expenses ($ k) | Operating Margins (%) | YoY Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-16 | 26,485,000 | -3,575,000 | 17 | -15.0 |
| 2022-02-17 | 26,042,000 | -3,588,000 | 20 | -4.76 |
| 2021-02-17 | 26,185,000 | -3,650,000 | 21 | 5.0 |
| 2020-02-14 | 24,977,000 | -3,178,000 | 20 | -9.09 |
| 2019-06-07 | 26,268,000 | -3,190,000 | 22 | -4.35 |
| 2018-02-16 | 26,076,000 | -2,927,000 | 23 |
- Average operating margins: 20.5 %
- Average operating margins growth rate: -4.8 %
- Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicate more stability): 10.1 %
Since both Kraft Heinz's gross margins and operating margins tend to be positive, we know that its business is currently profitable. However, it's important to take into account their variability and overall growth trend to make a definitive conclusion regarding the company's strength.
To get a better idea of Kraft Heinz's finances, we will now look at its cash flows. Often touted as a general yardstick for a company's financial health, cash flows represent the sum of inflows and outflows of cash from all sources, including capital expenditures:
| Date Reported | Cash Flow from Operations ($ k) | Capital expenditures ($ k) | Free Cash Flow ($ k) | YoY Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-16 | 2,469,000 | -916,000 | 3,385,000 | -46.0 |
| 2022-02-17 | 5,364,000 | -905,000 | 6,269,000 | 13.47 |
| 2021-02-17 | 4,929,000 | -596,000 | 5,525,000 | 27.89 |
| 2020-02-14 | 3,552,000 | -768,000 | 4,320,000 | 27.06 |
| 2019-06-07 | 2,574,000 | -826,000 | 3,400,000 | 100.59 |
| 2018-02-16 | 501,000 | -1,194,000 | 1,695,000 |
- Average free cash flow: $3.38 Billion
- Average free cash flow growth rate: 0.0 %
- Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicating more stability): 8035206278.7%
This is the pool of liquidity that the company can use to reinvest in its business and to pay its equity investors a dividend. Investors in Kraft Heinz enjoy a dividend yield of 4.9%, and they can expect this to continue based on the company's positive cash flows.
Overall, Kraft Heinz seems to be a strong business with an attractive valuation in numeric terms. Potential investors may want to take a closer look at the stock, and focus on whether it also has qualitative factors that show that it can provide solid returns.
