Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $117.17.

A number of analysts have recently commented on KNF shares. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Knife River from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Knife River from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company.

Knife River Stock Up 2.3%

KNF traded up $1.88 during trading on Monday, hitting $82.66. 1,022,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,313. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.70. Knife River has a 12-month low of $66.51 and a 12-month high of $108.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.32). Knife River had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $353.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $343.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.84) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Knife River in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Knife River by 31,200.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 313 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Knife River by 501.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 325 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Knife River during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.