Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 28,245 Shares of WK Kellogg Co. $KLG

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its holdings in WK Kellogg Co. by 27.6%, selling 28,245 shares and now owning 74,052 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million.
• WK Kellogg's recent earnings report showed a miss in EPS expectations, posting $0.25 compared to the consensus of $0.28, alongside an 8.8% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, yielding 2.9%, although its payout ratio stands at a high 178.38%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG - Free Report) by 27.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,052 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,245 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of WK Kellogg worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WK Kellogg by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,640,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,414,000 after acquiring an additional 245,555 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in WK Kellogg by 280.5% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,038,537 shares of the company's stock worth $60,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239,966 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in WK Kellogg by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,939,001 shares of the company's stock worth $58,574,000 after purchasing an additional 444,120 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in WK Kellogg by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,827,524 shares of the company's stock worth $32,877,000 after purchasing an additional 17,088 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in WK Kellogg by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,705,509 shares of the company's stock worth $30,682,000 after purchasing an additional 189,092 shares during the period. 95.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WK Kellogg Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:KLG traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.95. 465,712 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 798,801. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $21.70 and its 200-day moving average is $19.44. WK Kellogg Co. has a 12-month low of $14.80 and a 12-month high of $23.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.01 and a beta of 0.24.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.03). WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 31.34% and a net margin of 1.31%.The business had revenue of $611.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $653.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WK Kellogg Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. WK Kellogg's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 178.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KLG. Evercore ISI upped their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen upgraded WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 price target on WK Kellogg in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on WK Kellogg in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WK Kellogg has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $20.88.

WK Kellogg 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.