Short Interest in Kellanova (NYSE:K) Expands By 28.0%

Kellanova (NYSE:K) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,820,000 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the December 15th total of 5,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kellanova news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 114,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.96, for a total value of $9,276,639.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,795,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,031,432,102.72. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,031,247 shares of company stock worth $83,509,236. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kellanova

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Kellanova by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in Kellanova by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Kellanova by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kellanova by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kellanova by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 83.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kellanova Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:K traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.73. 2,647,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,373. The firm has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.41. Kellanova has a 52-week low of $52.46 and a 52-week high of $81.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Kellanova (NYSE:K) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Kellanova had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kellanova will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Kellanova Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Kellanova’s payout ratio is 78.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Kellanova from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Kellanova in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus downgraded Kellanova from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.35.

Kellanova Company Profile

Kellanova, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, 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.