WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Trading Up 10.1% – What’s Next?

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)’s stock price was up 10.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $19.09 and last traded at $19.95. Approximately 579,341 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 1,104,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLG shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.88.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30 and a beta of 0.70.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 33.41%. On average, analysts expect that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio is 82.05%.

Institutional Trading of WK Kellogg

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in WK Kellogg by 88.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 95.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WK Kellogg

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.