Kellanova (NYSE:K) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Kellanova (NYSE:K) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.32.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $83.50 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.71, for a total transaction of $4,489,838.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,297,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,960,386,688.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 855,800 shares of company stock worth $55,663,566 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kellanova

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in K. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 653,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 6.8% in the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Kellanova by 1.9% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Kellanova during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Stock Performance

NYSE:K opened at $80.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Kellanova has a 1-year low of $47.63 and a 1-year high of $80.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.61.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 85.39%.

Kellanova Company Profile

Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. Its principal products include crackers, crisps, savory snacks, toaster pastries, cereal bars, granola bars and bites, ready-to-eat cereals, frozen waffles, veggie foods, and noodles.