Kellanova (NYSE:K) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $82.43 and last traded at $82.36, with a volume of 174720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on K. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Kellanova from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Kellanova from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Sunday, February 16th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kellanova has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.37.

Kellanova (NYSE:K - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.61. Kellanova had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 37.25%. As a group, research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Kellanova's payout ratio is 58.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 48,878,693 shares in the company, valued at $3,941,577,803.52. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,145,830 shares of company stock worth $93,291,187. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of K. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kellanova during the 3rd quarter worth $488,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Kellanova during the 3rd quarter worth $428,000. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Kellanova by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 7,849.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 86,729 shares of the company's stock worth $7,000,000 after acquiring an additional 85,638 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kellanova by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,909 shares of the company's stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.87% of the company's stock.

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.