Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in 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. trimmed its position in shares of WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG - Free Report) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,052 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,245 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.09% of WK Kellogg worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management increased 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. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,737,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased 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. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in WK Kellogg by 254.0% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 392,461 shares of the company's stock worth $7,822,000 after purchasing an additional 281,600 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in WK Kellogg by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,640,453 shares of the company's stock worth $112,414,000 after purchasing an additional 245,555 shares during the period. 95.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KLG. TD Cowen raised WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 price target on WK Kellogg in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen raised WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, July 14th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $20.88.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KLG traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,341,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.47. WK Kellogg Co. has a 52 week low of $14.80 and a 52 week high of $23.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 61.93 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $611.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $653.36 million. WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 31.34% and a net margin of 1.31%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WK Kellogg Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

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

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.