Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Knife River Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 10 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of about $97.14.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed: RBC slightly cut its target to $107, Wells Fargo raised its target to $81 but kept an underweight rating, and Zacks upgraded the stock to strong-buy.
• The company said it beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting -$1.40 EPS versus an expected -$1.42 and $410.1 million in revenue, up 16% year over year.

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.1429.

KNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Knife River from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Knife River from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Knife River Trading Down 3.7%

KNF opened at $78.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.25. Knife River has a fifty-two week low of $58.72 and a fifty-two week high of $96.28.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.21) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knife River will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Knife River by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased 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 during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company's stock.

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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