StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Kellanova (NYSE:K)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) in a note issued to investors on Saturday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on K. Bank of America upgraded Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Kellanova in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kellanova from $76.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kellanova has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.32.

Kellanova Price Performance

Kellanova stock opened at $81.05 on Friday. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $49.28 and a 52 week high of $81.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Kellanova had a return on equity of 36.74% and a net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Kellanova’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.23, for a total transaction of $4,452,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,908,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,501,352.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.65, for a total value of $9,241,118.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,368,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,062,201,136.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.23, for a total transaction of $4,452,494.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,908,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,501,352.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,154,298 shares of company stock valued at $88,847,101. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Kellanova by 766.5% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,461 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Kellanova in the second quarter worth $88,065,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Kellanova in the second quarter worth $63,585,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Kellanova by 117.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,278,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,221,000 after purchasing an additional 689,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kellanova by 130.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,122,000 after purchasing an additional 608,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.