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

Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.32.

Several research firms recently weighed in on K. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kellanova to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of K opened at $80.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.98. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $49.28 and a 1 year high of $81.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Kellanova’s payout ratio is presently 85.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.57, for a total value of $9,231,952.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,024,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,030,475,818.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.67, for a total value of $4,486,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,986,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,940,387,879.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.57, for a total transaction of $9,231,952.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,024,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,030,475,818.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,039,715 shares of company stock valued at $79,608,273. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 57.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kellanova in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 529.3% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Kellanova during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 83.87% of the stock is 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.