WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of WK Kellogg Co (NYSE:KLG) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $17.18, but opened at $17.72. WK Kellogg shares last traded at $17.23, with a volume of 206,579 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director G Zachary Gund acquired 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $1,154,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 195,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,463,200. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director G Zachary Gund purchased 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.94 per share, for a total transaction of $1,166,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,166,100. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 raised their price target on shares of WK Kellogg from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on WK Kellogg from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.88.

WK Kellogg Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03.

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

WK Kellogg Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Institutional Trading of WK Kellogg

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 57,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 0.5% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 318,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of WK Kellogg by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.74% 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.