WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Shares Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)’s share price traded down 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $19.50 and last traded at $19.46. 37,358 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 1,124,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.07 and a 200 day moving average of $18.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at $454,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,994,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,051,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Finally, Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its stake in shares of WK Kellogg by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 63,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 16,563 shares during the period. 95.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.