WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.31, but opened at $17.25. WK Kellogg shares last traded at $17.09, with a volume of 168,453 shares changing hands.

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 2.50% and a return on equity of 33.41%.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. WK Kellogg's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of WK Kellogg from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.88.

Institutional Trading of WK Kellogg

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 88.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in WK Kellogg in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in WK Kellogg during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.74% of the company's stock.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

WK Kellogg Company Profile

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.