Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.75 and last traded at $82.71, with a volume of 2494582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on K shares. 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Kellanova from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Kellanova in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.68 and a 200 day moving average of $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Kellanova’s payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $9,305,285.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,222,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,997,354,514.82. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock valued at $93,291,187. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kellanova in the fourth quarter valued at about $285,126,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kellanova by 869.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,579,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,826,000 after buying an additional 2,313,047 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Kellanova by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,388,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,000 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kellanova in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $107,795,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Kellanova by 134.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,383 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kellanova

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.