Aberdeen Group plc Reduces Position in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group cut its position in Knife River by 35.8% in Q4, leaving it with 72,306 shares worth about $5.09 million; overall institutional investors own 80.11% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly positive: multiple firms raised price targets (several to the $105–$109 area) and the stock carries an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $97.43.
• Knife River recently beat estimates, reporting $0.56 EPS vs. $0.41 expected and revenue of $755.1 million (vs. $726.6M est.), with revenue up 14.9% year‑over‑year.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,336 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of Knife River worth $5,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KNF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Knife River by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Knife River during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Knife River by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 743 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 1,365.6% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Knife River from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $81.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knife River from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knife River presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.43.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of KNF opened at $82.83 on Thursday. Knife River Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.72 and a 52-week high of $103.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Knife River had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $755.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KNF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Free Report).

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.