Kellanova (NYSE:K) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Kellanova (NYSE:K) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $83.42 and last traded at $83.1650, with a volume of 215185 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on K shares. Wall Street Zen raised Kellanova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut Kellanova from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.50 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.50.

Kellanova Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $28.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.97 and a 200 day moving average of $80.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 10.56%.The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $9,116,350.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,501,192.90. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 343,765 shares of company stock worth $27,455,360 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $522,000. Syquant Capital Sas lifted its stake in Kellanova by 123.6% in the 2nd quarter. Syquant Capital Sas now owns 1,143,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,948,000 after acquiring an additional 632,168 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Kellanova by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 86,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Kellanova by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 457,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,709,000 after acquiring an additional 230,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Kellanova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $364,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.