Kellanova (NYSE:K) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Kellanova (NYSE:K)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.35 and last traded at $81.31, with a volume of 1196101 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on K. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lowered shares of Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.35.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.50.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. Kellanova had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.35%.

Insider Activity at Kellanova

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total value of $9,313,306.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,649,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,954,233,554.56. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,031,247 shares of company stock valued at $83,418,716 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 766.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Kellanova in the second quarter worth $88,065,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Kellanova in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,585,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Kellanova by 134.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,309,000 after buying an additional 1,033,383 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

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.