WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Trading Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)’s share price dropped 5.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $20.26 and last traded at $20.08. Approximately 282,938 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,153,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen downgraded WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WK Kellogg has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.88.

WK Kellogg Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 39.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLG. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in WK Kellogg in the 3rd quarter valued at about $602,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in WK Kellogg by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 4,369 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in WK Kellogg by 199.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 71,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 47,973 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $997,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,507,000. Institutional investors own 95.74% of the company’s stock.

WK Kellogg Company Profile

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.