Simplicity Solutions LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,634 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Knife River were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of Knife River by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 49,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after purchasing an additional 23,022 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 3rd quarter valued at $893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Knife River by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,540,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,532,000 after purchasing an additional 46,737 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Knife River by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,120,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,720,000 after purchasing an additional 184,192 shares in the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Stock Performance

Knife River stock opened at $78.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion and a PE ratio of -0.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.07. Knife River Co. has a twelve month low of $33.67 and a twelve month high of $83.78.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $646.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.47 million. Knife River had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.98%. Knife River’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KNF shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Siebert Williams Shank upped their target price on shares of Knife River from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knife River has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.20.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through six segments: Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, North Central, South, and Energy Services. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete, as well as provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading.