Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Kellanova (NYSE:K) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.35 and last traded at $81.31, with a volume of 1196101 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus downgraded Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kellanova currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.35.

Kellanova Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.17.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is 78.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.96, for a total value of $9,276,639.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,795,357 shares in the company, valued at $4,031,432,102.72. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 916,664 shares of company stock valued at $74,105,409. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kellanova

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in K. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664,461 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Kellanova during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,065,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kellanova in the third quarter valued at about $107,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Kellanova during the second quarter worth about $63,585,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Kellanova by 134.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,383 shares during the last quarter. 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.