Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG)

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 3.82% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen lowered WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

NYSE KLG opened at $18.72 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.19. WK Kellogg has a 52 week low of $15.17 and a 52 week high of $24.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that WK Kellogg will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of WK Kellogg

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,925,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,609,000 after acquiring an additional 52,129 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 149.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,186,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510,779 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 172.9% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,494,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,704 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,827,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,877,000 after purchasing an additional 17,088 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in WK Kellogg by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,705,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,682,000 after purchasing an additional 189,092 shares in the last quarter. 95.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.