By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) rose 2.8% as pandemic-driven home dining helped results.
First quarter profit of 72 cents a share beat the expected 60 cents on sales of $6.39 billion, which compares to analysts' forecast of $6.25 billion.
Sales have been supported by lockdowns that shuttered restaurants and had us eating at home all the time. The company has seen revenue stalled for the past several years, although the maker of mac and cheese has profited steadily in that time.
Kraft Heinz has a price to earnings ratio -- a measure of the value of a company -- of 193 times compared to the industry average of 36, indicating that the ketchup purveyor may be overpriced.
It recently sold the Planters peanut brand alongside other nuts and part of its cheese business to pay down debt as it attempts a turnaround announced in September.
In February, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) downgraded the company, seeing it as pricey. Shares have since risen 13%.