WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Shares Down 8.6% – What’s Next?

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)’s share price was down 8.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.94 and last traded at $16.00. Approximately 216,692 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 713,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen downgraded WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $18.57.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.78.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $689.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.10 million. WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 2.50%. WK Kellogg’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WK Kellogg

In other news, Director G Zachary Gund purchased 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $1,154,400.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,463,200. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 406.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 103,301 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in WK Kellogg by 7.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,112,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,036,000 after purchasing an additional 79,808 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in WK Kellogg by 12,352.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,516,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,946,000 after buying an additional 1,504,239 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg in the 2nd quarter worth about $577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.74% of the company’s stock.

About WK Kellogg

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.