Kellanova (NYSE:K) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Kellanova (NYSE:K) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Kellanova had a net margin of 5.21% and a return on equity of 34.38%. Kellanova’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Kellanova updated its Q4 guidance to $0.73-0.76 EPS.

Kellanova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:K opened at $51.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $28.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.32. Kellanova has a fifty-two week low of $47.63 and a fifty-two week high of $74.72.

Kellanova Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 30th. Kellanova’s payout ratio is currently 94.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on K shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Kellanova from $71.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Kellanova from $72.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Kellanova from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Kellanova from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Kellanova from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.42, for a total transaction of $4,622,876.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,254,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,774,937.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 77,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.42, for a total transaction of $4,622,876.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 54,254,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,774,937.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of Kellanova stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.10, for a total transaction of $6,110,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,331,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,675,301.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 722,400 shares of company stock worth $40,223,744 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kellanova

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in K. Cowa LLC bought a new position in shares of Kellanova in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Kellanova during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kellanova during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Kellanova by 168.4% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kellanova in the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.

About Kellanova

Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods. The company operates through four segments: North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, 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.