Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Receives $97.43 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.4286.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KNF. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Knife River by 141.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the second quarter worth $40,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 1,088.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River in the third quarter valued at $47,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Stock Performance

Knife River stock opened at $81.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.27. Knife River has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $103.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.74 and its 200-day moving average is $75.10.

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

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.