Kellogg (NYSE:K – Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,710,000 shares, a decrease of 8.3% from the July 31st total of 10,590,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kellogg from $60.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kellogg from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kellogg in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Kellogg from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kellogg from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.42.
Kellogg Trading Down 1.9 %
Shares of NYSE K traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,543,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,258,704. The firm has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.41. Kellogg has a twelve month low of $59.73 and a twelve month high of $77.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.54.
Kellogg (NYSE:K – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.14. Kellogg had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 33.33%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kellogg will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.
Kellogg Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This is an increase from Kellogg’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Kellogg’s payout ratio is presently 96.00%.
Insider Transactions at Kellogg
In other Kellogg news, major shareholder Kellogg W. K. Foundation Trust sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.10, for a total value of $6,110,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,331,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,319,675,301.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 600,000 shares of company stock worth $39,088,000. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Kellogg
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of K. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Kellogg by 42,578.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,311,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kellogg in the 4th quarter worth $131,663,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kellogg by 1,603.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,791,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686,391 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Kellogg by 122.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,981,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN bought a new stake in shares of Kellogg in the 1st quarter worth $87,611,000. Institutional investors own 83.87% of the company’s stock.
Kellogg Company Profile
Kellogg Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks and convenience foods. The company operates through four segments: North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Middle East 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.