Kellanova (NYSE:K) Short Interest Up 10.8% in June

Kellanova (NYSE:K) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,490,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the May 31st total of 10,370,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Kellanova Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE K traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.65. 47,749 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,903,265. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Kellanova has a 1-year low of $47.63 and a 1-year high of $68.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.87. The company has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.35.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.07% and a net margin of 6.41%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Kellanova’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kellanova will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 83.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total value of $4,306,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,997,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,878,080,333.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total value of $4,306,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,997,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,878,080,333.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nicolas Amaya sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $588,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,191 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,769.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 865,600 shares of company stock valued at $50,941,428 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kellanova

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,184,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,150,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,582 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,939,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 117.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,278,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,221,000 after acquiring an additional 689,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kellanova by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 4,891,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,504,000 after acquiring an additional 655,686 shares in the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

K has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kellanova from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kellanova from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Kellanova from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Kellanova from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.83.

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.