Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Kellanova (NYSE:K) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,620,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the January 15th total of 5,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of K stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,982,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,318,548. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.37 and a 200-day moving average of $80.02. The company has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kellanova has a 12-month low of $52.46 and a 12-month high of $82.41.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last posted its 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Kellanova in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas lowered Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $9,305,285.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,222,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,997,354,514.82. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,260,413 shares of company stock worth $102,571,264 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Kellanova by 20.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 273,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,076,000 after acquiring an additional 46,450 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 5.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 178,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,435,000 after buying an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 373,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,169,000 after purchasing an additional 24,067 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in Kellanova in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased 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 worth $145,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,383 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

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.