Kellanova (NYSE:K) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in a report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of K stock opened at $82.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $83.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.14 and its 200-day moving average is $81.25.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.31, for a total value of $9,431,326.73. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,503,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,910,029,300.07. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,374,996 shares of company stock worth $112,530,818. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 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.