Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.43.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of KNF stock opened at $90.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.54. Knife River has a 1 year low of $58.72 and a 1 year high of $103.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.47.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $755.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $726.60 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Knife River by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Knife River during the second quarter worth $48,000. 80.11% of the stock is 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.