Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 119,452 Shares of Knife River Corporation $KNF

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its Knife River stake by 87.8%, acquiring 119,452 shares to hold 255,557 shares (about 0.45% of the company), valued at roughly $17.98 million at the quarter end.
• Institutional ownership stands at 80.11%, with other large investors (UBS, State Street, Raymond James, Jones Financial) also increasing positions, indicating strong institutional backing.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $97.29 target; Knife River recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.56 vs. $0.41) and reported 14.9% revenue growth, while shares trade near $89 with a P/E of 32.33.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 87.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,557 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,452 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.45% of Knife River worth $17,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KNF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 284.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,390 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knife River during the first quarter worth approximately $424,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 16.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 227,565 shares of the company's stock worth $20,529,000 after acquiring an additional 32,762 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 0.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,101,198 shares of the company's stock worth $171,542,000 after acquiring an additional 12,308 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 71.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 354,860 shares of the company's stock worth $28,971,000 after acquiring an additional 147,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Knife River from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Knife River from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of Knife River stock opened at $89.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.38 and a 200-day moving average of $76.46. Knife River Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.72 and a 1-year high of $103.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $726.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Knife River Corporation will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knife River Profile

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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