Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Knife River Corporation by 21.3% during the first quarter, selling 12,521 shares and retaining 46,160 shares.
• Knife River's stock increased by 2.2%, opening at $80.29, with a market capitalization of $4.55 billion.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Buy" for Knife River with an average price target of $114.33, despite recent earnings missing estimates.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 21.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,160 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,521 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Knife River worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Knife River during the first quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 31,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 313 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 501.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 325 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Knife River from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Knife River from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Knife River in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.33.

Knife River Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of KNF traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $79.98. 551,886 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,378. Knife River Corporation has a 1 year low of $74.50 and a 1 year high of $108.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $83.46 and its 200-day moving average is $88.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.63.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $833.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $902.26 million. Knife River had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Knife River has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 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.