Kellanova (NYSE:K) Raised to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) to a neutral rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $83.50 price objective on the stock.

K has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Kellanova from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kellanova has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.75.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Kellanova stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.60. 5,559,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,775,646. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.30. Kellanova has a 1 year low of $55.96 and a 1 year high of $83.22.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.26, for a total transaction of $9,425,597.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,618,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,079,712.80. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,374,996 shares of company stock worth $113,174,775. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 2.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 1.8% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 1.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kellanova by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 833 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.