Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.42 and last traded at $101.54, with a volume of 26509 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Knife River from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.67.

Knife River Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.08. The company has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.74.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Knife River’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Knife River Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 12.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,064,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,785,000 after buying an additional 224,373 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Knife River by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,003,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,561,000 after purchasing an additional 26,198 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 5.3% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 761,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,377,000 after purchasing an additional 38,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Knife River by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the period. 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.