WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Earns Underweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an underweight rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KLG. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of KLG stock opened at $19.08 on Monday. WK Kellogg has a 1 year low of $15.17 and a 1 year high of $24.63. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average is $18.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued 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 expect that WK Kellogg will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. WK Kellogg’s payout ratio is presently 81.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter valued at $14,737,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at about $454,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,994,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,051,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,000. 95.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.