WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) Given Average Rating of “Strong Sell” by Analysts

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) has earned an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.89.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen downgraded WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WK Kellogg during the third quarter valued at about $254,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 14,705 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 406.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WK Kellogg by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,507,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,802,000 after purchasing an additional 38,939 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg during the third quarter valued at approximately $515,000. 95.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

NYSE:KLG opened at $19.52 on Friday. WK Kellogg has a twelve month low of $15.17 and a twelve month high of $24.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.38.

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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that WK Kellogg will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

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

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.