WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has increased its stake in WK Kellogg Co. by 34%, owning approximately 0.16% of the company, valued at $2.8 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• WK Kellogg's most recent quarterly earnings report revealed a significant earnings per share (EPS) miss, reporting $0.20 EPS against an expected $0.41, with revenue also declining 6.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 2.85% and reflects a high payout ratio of 103.13%.

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,895 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,761 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.16% of WK Kellogg worth $2,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth about $754,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in WK Kellogg by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,516,717 shares of the company's stock worth $27,286,000 after buying an additional 126,793 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,709 shares of the company's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 39,822 shares of the company's stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 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 analysts have weighed in on KLG shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 target price on WK Kellogg in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WK Kellogg presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.13.

WK Kellogg Stock Down 0.1%

WK Kellogg stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.97. 301,333 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,341. The company's fifty day moving average price is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.37. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $667.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.91 million. WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 34.88% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WK Kellogg Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.