Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Cut to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Knife River from “hold” to “strong sell.” Analyst sentiment overall remains “hold,” with an average price target of $65.29.
• Other firms lowered their price targets, including JPMorgan (to $63) and Wells Fargo (to $54), while Oppenheimer cut its target to $80 but maintained an “outperform” rating.
• Knife River’s latest quarterly results missed estimates: EPS was $2.43 versus $2.58 expected, and revenue was $1.28 billion versus $1.30 billion expected, though revenue increased 6% year over year.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KNF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Knife River from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Knife River from $62.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. DA Davidson set a $66.00 target price on shares of Knife River in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Knife River from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.29.

Knife River Stock Down 1.1%

KNF opened at $58.29 on Monday. Knife River has a 12 month low of $47.79 and a 12 month high of $96.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business's 50-day moving average price is $54.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.35. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.39.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.15). Knife River had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Knife River will post 2.40 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 6.3% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,730 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,938 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Rock Creek Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $504,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Knife River by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 40,384 shares of the company's stock worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 18,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation is an aggregates-based construction materials and contracting company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. It produces and sells construction materials, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and cement. The company also provides construction services such as asphalt paving, road building, site development and underground utility work. Its operations serve customers across parts of the western, northwestern and central United States, including public agencies and commercial customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.