Kraft Heinz Stock Slips On Analyst Downgrade Ahead of Q4 Earnings, But Retail's Bullish

Shares of The Kraft Heinz Co. ($KHC) fell 1.16% on Monday as Mizuho downgraded the company’s stock ahead of its Q4 earnings, but retail sentiment stayed optimistic.

Mizuho analyst John Baumgartner downgraded the company’s stock to ‘Neutra’l from ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $31, down from $38, Fly.com reported. According to the analyst, Kraft's Q3 earnings cut expectations for growth in 2025, but its reinvestments may drive modest downside compared to street earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) estimates.

The firm noted the company’s investments in brand building and analytics along with weakening U.S. market share as its center-store volumes also declined.

Last week, Jefferies lowered the firm's price target to $30 from $34 with a ‘Hold’ rating on the shares. The analyst questioned why its management cut back on promotional activity during the busiest at-home time of the year "other than to preserve profitability,"

Its U.S. tracked channel data indicated heightened volume declines and share losses in Q4, with "iconic brands" such as Lunchables, Maxwell House, Heinz and Classico seeing volumes drop by double-digit percentages year-over-year.

Sentiment on Stocktwits turned ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ last week. Message volumes moved up in the ‘high’ zone from ‘normal.’

Kraft Heinz is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Wall Street analysts expect the company to post $0.78 in earnings per share on revenue of $6.66 billion, according to Stocktwits data.

Last quarter, Kraft Heinz posted $0.75 in EPS, beating Wall Street expectations of $0.74. Its revenue came in at $6.38 billion, below consensus estimates of $6.42 billion.

Kraft Heinz stock is down 5.70% year-to-date.

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