Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 683 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in WK Kellogg were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in WK Kellogg by 7.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,112,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,036,000 after acquiring an additional 79,808 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WK Kellogg by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 38,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 21,559 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 305,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,220,000 after purchasing an additional 18,016 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 563.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 333,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,703,000 after purchasing an additional 283,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WK Kellogg during the 3rd quarter valued at $254,000. 95.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of WK Kellogg from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of WK Kellogg in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $17.89.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

KLG stock opened at $20.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.32. WK Kellogg Co has a 1-year low of $15.17 and a 1-year high of $24.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.29.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.14. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 39.81%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WK Kellogg Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from WK Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. WK Kellogg’s payout ratio is presently 81.48%.

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.