Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Knife River, with six buy ratings and four holds among 10 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $89.71, well above the stock’s reported $66.29 price.
• Knife River’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue rose 12.6% year over year to $938.57 million and exceeded estimates, but earnings per share came in at $0.77, below the $1.13 consensus.
• Institutional investors own approximately 80.11% of the company, while the stock has traded between $58.72 and $96.28 over the past year; several analysts recently lowered their price targets or ratings.

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.7143.

KNF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Knife River from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Knife River from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $81.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Knife River from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Knife River from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNF. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Knife River during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 1,088.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Knife River Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:KNF opened at $66.29 on Friday. Knife River has a 1 year low of $58.72 and a 1 year high of $96.28. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $938.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.39 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

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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