Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Stock Holdings in WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in WK Kellogg Co. by 254% during the first quarter, owning a total of 392,461 shares worth approximately $7.82 million.
• WK Kellogg reported a missed earnings forecast with EPS of $0.20 against the expected $0.41, and a revenue drop of 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, yielding 2.85%, with a payout ratio of 103.13%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG - Free Report) by 254.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 392,461 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 281,600 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.46% of WK Kellogg worth $7,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter worth about $754,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in WK Kellogg by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,516,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,286,000 after buying an additional 126,793 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in WK Kellogg by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 9,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLG shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen upgraded WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen upgraded WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 price objective on WK Kellogg in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WK Kellogg has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.13.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

Shares of KLG stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.99. 907,065 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,770,264. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.92 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.37. WK Kellogg Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.80 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $667.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.91 million. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 34.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that WK Kellogg Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. WK Kellogg's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.13%.

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.