Kellanova (NYSE:K) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,820,000 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the December 15th total of 5,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $9,239,973.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,878,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,577,803.52. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,031,247 shares of company stock worth $83,509,236 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,725,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,489,000 after acquiring an additional 731,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kellanova by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,725,532 shares of the company's stock worth $541,052,000 after purchasing an additional 196,564 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kellanova by 11.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,312 shares of the company's stock worth $150,909,000 after purchasing an additional 277,171 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Kellanova by 766.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,881,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,532,000 after buying an additional 1,664,461 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Kellanova by 134.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,363 shares of the company's stock worth $145,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

K has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas lowered Kellanova from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus cut shares of Kellanova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Kellanova in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.35.

Kellanova Stock Up 0.2 %

K stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.73. 2,647,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,723,373. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $80.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.41. The company has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.37. Kellanova has a 52 week low of $52.46 and a 52 week high of $81.79.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kellanova will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Kellanova's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.35%.

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.

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