Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Price Target to $75.00

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Knife River from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. B. Riley assumed coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.71.

Knife River Stock Down 3.5%

KNF stock opened at $67.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Knife River has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $106.89. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.62.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.97% and a net margin of 4.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Knife River in the first quarter valued at approximately $424,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Knife River by 16.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 227,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,529,000 after buying an additional 32,762 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 52,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,322,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, DMKC Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the second quarter worth $358,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.