Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Wolfe Research upgraded Knife River from “peer perform” to “outperform,” while analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $69.29.
• Knife River shares opened at $52.88, near the lower end of their 52-week range, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.77—below the $1.13 consensus estimate—despite revenue increasing 12.6% year over year to $938.59 million.
• Institutional investors continued to add to their positions, with hedge funds and other institutions owning approximately 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

KNF has been the subject of a number of other reports. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Knife River from $105.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Knife River from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup lowered shares of Knife River to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Knife River in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Knife River from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Knife River Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:KNF opened at $52.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Knife River has a 52 week low of $47.79 and a 52 week high of $96.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day moving average price is $56.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.62.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $938.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Knife River's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Knife River will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNF. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 267.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 826 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 26.4% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Knife River by 16.5% in the third quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,384 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 106,446 shares of the company's stock worth $5,367,000 after purchasing an additional 18,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $151,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company produces and sells construction aggregates, asphalt, ready-mix concrete and cement, and also provides related construction services for transportation, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

Its operations include aggregate mining and processing, asphalt and concrete production, paving, site development and other heavy-construction activities. Knife River serves public-sector and private-sector customers, including state and local governments, contractors, commercial developers and industrial businesses.

Knife River became an independent publicly traded company in 2023 after being spun off from MDU Resources Group.

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