Kellanova Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:K)

Kellanova (NYSE:K) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 3,389 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 121% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,532 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total transaction of $4,306,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,997,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,080,333.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total transaction of $4,306,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,997,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,080,333.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nicolas Amaya sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $588,490.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,769.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 865,600 shares of company stock valued at $50,838,732. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of K. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in Kellanova by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Kellanova during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Motco raised its holdings in Kellanova by 757.6% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Kellanova by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kellanova by 139.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on K shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Kellanova from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Kellanova from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.85.

Kellanova Price Performance

K stock opened at $56.88 on Thursday. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $47.63 and a 52-week high of $68.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.07% and a net margin of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 83.90%.

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.