Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.67.

Several research firms have recently commented on KNF. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Knife River from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Knife River Price Performance

KNF stock opened at $102.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Knife River has a 12-month low of $61.50 and a 12-month high of $107.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.90.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.82 by ($0.22). Knife River had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Knife River will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KNF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 421,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,201,000 after buying an additional 39,991 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 125.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 5,360 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Knife River in the 3rd quarter worth $365,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,561,000 after buying an additional 26,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 156.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,205,000 after buying an additional 103,713 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.