Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.75.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KNF. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KNF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Knife River by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 421,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,201,000 after purchasing an additional 39,991 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Knife River by 165.4% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 38,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,411,000 after buying an additional 23,779 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Knife River by 24.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,278,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 599.5% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,750,000 after buying an additional 16,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in Knife River in the third quarter valued at $567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Price Performance

KNF opened at $98.00 on Friday. Knife River has a 52-week low of $61.82 and a 52-week high of $108.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.77. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by ($0.22). Knife River had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 6.89%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Knife River will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.