Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stock Holdings in WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) by 199.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,987 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,973 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.08% of WK Kellogg worth $1,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLG. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 579.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,403,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,107,000 after buying an additional 1,197,133 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 2,253.3% during the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 623,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,721,000 after acquiring an additional 596,975 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WK Kellogg in the first quarter valued at $8,998,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in WK Kellogg by 64.4% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 873,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,370,000 after purchasing an additional 341,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in WK Kellogg by 124.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 538,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,865,000 after purchasing an additional 298,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.74% of the company’s stock.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

WK Kellogg stock opened at $17.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion and a P/E ratio of 21.87. WK Kellogg Co has a 1-year low of $10.99 and a 1-year high of $24.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.50 and its 200 day moving average is $17.84.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. WK Kellogg had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $689.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that WK Kellogg Co will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of WK Kellogg from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on WK Kellogg from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Zachary Gund acquired 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.94 per share, with a total value of $1,166,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,166,100. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.