WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Trading 3% Higher – Here’s Why

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) traded up 3% on Wednesday . The stock 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 topic of several research reports. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of WK Kellogg in a research report on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WK Kellogg presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.74.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in WK Kellogg by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,240,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,308,000 after purchasing an additional 127,488 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 1,217.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,210,000 after buying an additional 216,236 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in WK Kellogg by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 105,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 33,147 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter worth about $2,022,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 406.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 103,301 shares during the period. 95.74% of the stock is 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.