JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded WK Kellogg from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. TD Cowen upgraded WK Kellogg from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas set a $23.00 target price on WK Kellogg in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up previously from $16.00) on shares of WK Kellogg in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on WK Kellogg from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $20.88.

WK Kellogg Stock Performance

Shares of KLG stock opened at $22.9950 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 62.15 and a beta of 0.24. WK Kellogg has a 52-week low of $14.80 and a 52-week high of $23.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $611.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.36 million. WK Kellogg had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 31.34%. The business’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WK Kellogg will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

WK Kellogg Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. WK Kellogg’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 178.38%.

Institutional Trading of WK Kellogg

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WK Kellogg by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,640,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,414,000 after buying an additional 245,555 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A increased its holdings in WK Kellogg by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 4,287,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,447,000 after acquiring an additional 403,970 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in WK Kellogg by 280.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,038,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239,966 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in WK Kellogg by 17.8% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,939,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,574,000 after acquiring an additional 444,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in WK Kellogg by 10.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,934,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,844,000 after acquiring an additional 178,187 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.