WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Trading Down 8.6% – Here’s What Happened

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)’s stock price dropped 8.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.94 and last traded at $16.00. Approximately 216,692 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 713,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLG shares. TD Cowen downgraded WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $18.57.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.72 and a 200 day moving average of $17.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $689.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. WK Kellogg’s payout ratio is 82.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director G Zachary Gund purchased 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,154,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 195,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,463,200. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WK Kellogg

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in WK Kellogg by 4.9% in the third quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in WK Kellogg by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 3,471 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in WK Kellogg by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 38,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 3,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in WK Kellogg by 3,575.4% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 4,362 shares during the last quarter. 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.