Kellanova (NYSE:K) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.32.

Several research firms have commented on K. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.1 %

Kellanova stock opened at $80.67 on Friday. Kellanova has a fifty-two week low of $47.63 and a fifty-two week high of $80.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.57 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.44.

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

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. 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. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.39%.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.68, for a total transaction of $9,244,556.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,253,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,467,628.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.68, for a total value of $9,244,556.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,253,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,467,628.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $6,272,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,597,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,079,165,451.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,043,949 shares of company stock valued at $74,350,847 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth about $150,184,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Kellanova by 766.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,532,000 after buying an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Kellanova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $88,065,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,150,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,797,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Kellanova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,585,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.