Wall Street Zen Downgrades Knowles (NYSE:KN) to Hold

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KN. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Knowles Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Knowles stock opened at $18.36 on Friday. Knowles has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $20.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.80 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.15 and its 200-day moving average is $17.17.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 6.35% and a negative net margin of 38.96%. The company had revenue of $132.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $95,651.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 111,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,683.50. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at $278,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Knowles by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 22,453 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Knowles by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 23,763 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Knowles by 118.1% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 34,007 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 18,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Knowles by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 22,560 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 2,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).