Strong brands boost earnings

Article Excerpt

KRAFT HEINZ CO. $40 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol KHC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $48.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.kraftheinzcompany.com) is a leading producer of processed foods. Its top brands include Velveeta and Philadelphia cream cheeses, Oscar Meyer hot dogs, and Maxwell House coffee. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company’s sales rose 10.0%, to $7.38 billion from $6.71 billion a year earlier. If you exclude divestitures and currency rates, sales increased by 10.4% as higher selling prices offset lower volumes. Better efficiency and lower interest costs lifted earnings before one-time items by 3.1%, to $0.85 a share from $0.79. For 2023, Kraft expects its sales (excluding currency rates and acquisitions) to improve between 4% and 6%. The company also expects to earn $2.72 a share, and the stock trades at a moderate 14.7 times that forecast. The $1.60 dividend yields a solid 4.0%. Kraft Heinz is a buy. buy. …