WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Stock Price Up 3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) shot up 3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.05 and last traded at $19.11. 223,280 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 999,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen cut WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WK Kellogg presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 39.81% and a net margin of 2.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a boost from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WK Kellogg

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WK Kellogg by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in WK Kellogg by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. 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.