Kellanova (NYSE:K) Raised to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $76.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $62.00.

K has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Kellanova from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Kellanova from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas raised Kellanova from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Kellanova from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Kellanova from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kellanova presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $66.93.

Kellanova Price Performance

Kellanova stock opened at $74.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.75. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $47.63 and a 1 year high of $75.40.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 36.74% and a net margin of 6.72%. Kellanova’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.01, for a total transaction of $4,824,378.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,608,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,264,044.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 855,800 shares of company stock valued at $51,267,088 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of K. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kellanova in the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Kellanova by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 75,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 270,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,050,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares in the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.