Kellanova (NYSE:K) Short Interest Update

Kellanova (NYSE:K) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,580,000 shares, a decrease of 30.8% from the August 31st total of 8,060,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $4,371,582.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,064,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,299,533.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.65, for a total value of $9,241,118.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,368,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,062,201,136.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $4,371,582.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,064,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,299,533.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 966,149 shares of company stock valued at $69,866,455 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Kellanova during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kellanova by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Kellanova in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Kellanova from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson lowered Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $83.50 in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kellanova from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Kellanova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kellanova has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.32.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:K traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.76. 1,330,353 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,246,458. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $47.63 and a 52 week high of $80.97. The firm has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.74%. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Kellanova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Kellanova’s payout ratio is presently 85.39%.

Kellanova Company Profile

Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. Its principal products include crackers, crisps, savory snacks, toaster pastries, cereal bars, granola bars and bites, ready-to-eat cereals, frozen waffles, veggie foods, and noodles.