WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

Shares of KLG opened at $18.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. WK Kellogg has a 52-week low of $15.17 and a 52-week high of $24.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.74.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 39.81%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WK Kellogg will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WK Kellogg

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in WK Kellogg by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.74% of the company’s stock.

WK Kellogg Company Profile

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.