Kellanova (NYSE:K) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Kellanova (NYSE:K) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $83.45 and last traded at $83.3290, with a volume of 1408006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

K has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Kellanova from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Kellanova in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.50.

Kellanova Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.35 and its 200 day moving average is $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.23.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 10.56%.The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total value of $9,116,350.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,097,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,501,192.90. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 343,765 shares of company stock valued at $27,455,360 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,356,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,652,873,000 after purchasing an additional 661,535 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kellanova by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,216,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,051,103,000 after purchasing an additional 352,738 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its position in Kellanova by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,289,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,362,000 after purchasing an additional 163,126 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 21.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,055,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,535,000 after acquiring an additional 720,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Company Profile

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.