WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Trading Down 5.7% – Should You Sell?

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) fell 5.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $20.26 and last traded at $20.08. 282,938 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,153,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLG shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen downgraded WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WK Kellogg presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.88.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.85 and a 200 day moving average of $18.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 39.81%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,022,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in WK Kellogg by 199.8% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 71,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 47,973 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in WK Kellogg by 406.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 103,301 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 7.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,112,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,036,000 after purchasing an additional 79,808 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 49,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 32,218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.74% of the company’s stock.

About WK Kellogg

WK Kellogg Co operates as a food company in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. It manufactures, markets, and distributes ready-to-eat cereal products primarily under the Frosted Flakes, Special K, Froot Loops, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and Kashi brands. The company was formerly known as North America Cereal Co and changed its name to WK Kellogg Co in March 2023.