Kellanova (NYSE:K) Short Interest Down 6.2% in March

Kellanova (NYSE:K) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,090,000 shares, a decline of 6.2% from the March 15th total of 13,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kellanova

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.68, for a total transaction of $4,254,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,775,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,885,782,821.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 933,600 shares of company stock worth $51,308,322 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of K. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in Kellanova by 491.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Norwood Financial Corp grew its position in Kellanova by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in Kellanova by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its position in Kellanova by 757.6% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cowa LLC bought a new position in Kellanova in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of K traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.51. 2,295,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,664,497. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.40. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $47.63 and a 52-week high of $72.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 35.17% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Kellanova’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on K. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kellanova from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kellanova from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kellanova from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.27.

About Kellanova

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.