Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 39,991 Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 421,458 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,991 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.74% of Knife River worth $38,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in Knife River by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Knife River by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 129.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 3.3% in the third quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 6,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:KNF opened at $104.89 on Wednesday. Knife River Co. has a one year low of $61.50 and a one year high of $107.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

About Knife River

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.