Royce & Associates LP Grows Position in WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG - Free Report) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,134 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 33,147 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.12% of WK Kellogg worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WK Kellogg by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.74% of the company's stock.

WK Kellogg Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of KLG traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.28. 847,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,005,974. The stock's 50-day moving average is $18.29 and its 200-day moving average is $18.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.74. WK Kellogg Co has a fifty-two week low of $15.17 and a fifty-two week high of $24.63. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30.

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WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 39.81%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. WK Kellogg's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLG. TD Cowen downgraded shares of WK Kellogg from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on WK Kellogg in a research report on Monday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WK Kellogg presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $17.89.

About WK Kellogg

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.