Kellanova (NYSE:K) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $83.50 price objective on the stock.

K has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kellanova in a research note on Sunday, February 16th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.96.

Kellanova Stock Performance

Shares of Kellanova stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.63. 2,683,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,389,531. Kellanova has a 12 month low of $52.46 and a 12 month high of $82.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 P/E 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kellanova will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $9,239,973.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,878,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,577,803.52. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, 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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Kellanova by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,343 shares of the company's stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the last quarter. BCK Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Kellanova by 101.6% in the fourth quarter. BCK Capital Management LP now owns 168,610 shares of the company's stock worth $13,652,000 after purchasing an additional 84,970 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Kellanova by 100.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,450 shares of the company's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. CSS LLC IL lifted its stake in Kellanova by 3,312.8% in the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 13,651 shares of the company's stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 13,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Kellanova by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,661,225 shares of the company's stock worth $215,479,000 after purchasing an additional 86,293 shares during the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.