Kellanova (NYSE:K) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of K opened at $82.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.19. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.31. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $52.53 and a 1 year high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced 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%. On average, analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.70, for a total value of $9,476,014.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,847,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,956,983,784.20. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,260,413 shares of company stock valued at $103,099,492. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of K. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 6.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 373,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,169,000 after buying an additional 24,067 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kellanova by 26.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the third quarter valued at $78,000. Simmons Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the third quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the third quarter valued at $272,000. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kellanova Company Profile

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.