Kellanova (NYSE:K) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in a research note released on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

K has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Kellanova from $67.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus lowered Kellanova from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.32.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of K stock opened at $80.63 on Friday. Kellanova has a one year low of $49.28 and a one year high of $81.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.74%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.23, for a total transaction of $4,452,494.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,908,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,501,352.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.23, for a total value of $4,452,494.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,908,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,501,352.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.72, for a total transaction of $9,249,139.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,139,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,228,636.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,715 shares of company stock worth $79,608,273 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at about $518,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Kellanova during the fourth quarter worth about $199,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Kellanova by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

About Kellanova

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.