First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Knife River stake by 214.2% in the first quarter, adding 61,053 shares to own 89,551 shares worth approximately $7.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.11% of KNF.
• Knife River reported quarterly revenue of $410.1 million, up 16% year over year, and posted an EPS loss of $1.40, beating analyst expectations by $0.02.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $97.14, compared with the stock’s recent opening price of $73.19.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 214.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,551 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,053 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.16% of Knife River worth $7,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 1,088.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 198.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 806 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Knife River by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 940 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of KNF stock opened at $73.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.38. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.37. Knife River Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $96.28.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 4.58%.The firm had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Knife River's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KNF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knife River from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Knife River from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Knife River in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.14.

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.

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