Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Kellanova (NYSE:K)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.75 and last traded at $82.71, with a volume of 2494582 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.83.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.25% and a net margin of 10.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $9,246,848.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,107,859 shares in the company, valued at $3,963,004,221.30. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,145,830 shares of company stock worth $93,291,187 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in K. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. BCK Capital Management LP raised its stake in Kellanova by 101.6% in the 4th quarter. BCK Capital Management LP now owns 168,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,652,000 after purchasing an additional 84,970 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 100.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL grew its position in shares of Kellanova by 3,312.8% during the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 13,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 13,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,661,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,479,000 after buying an additional 86,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

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.