WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• WK Kellogg Co. has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with two sell ratings and seven hold ratings among the nine firms covering the stock.
• Institutional investors hold 95.74% of WK Kellogg's stock, with significant recent stake increases by multiple firms, including Ancora Advisors, which raised its stake by 181.8%.
• The company's last earnings report showed a net margin decline, missing analysts' consensus estimates significantly with earnings per share of $0.20 compared to expectations of $0.41.

Shares of WK Kellogg Co. (NYSE:KLG - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.13.

KLG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 target price on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cowen raised shares of WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WK Kellogg from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

Shares of WK Kellogg stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.09. 833,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,779,487. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08 and a beta of 0.23. WK Kellogg has a twelve month low of $14.80 and a twelve month high of $23.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.48.

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

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. WK Kellogg's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLG. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in WK Kellogg by 181.8% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of WK Kellogg by 594.1% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,353 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg in the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in WK Kellogg by 1,030.8% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in WK Kellogg in the first quarter valued at $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.74% of the company's stock.

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.