Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Knife River to “sell” from “hold,” though broader analyst sentiment remains more favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $91.86.
• Knife River’s stock opened at $67.35, well below its 12-month high of $96.28. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.77 missed estimates of $1.13, despite revenue of $938.57 million exceeding forecasts and rising 12.6% year over year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 80.11% of Knife River’s shares; recent activity included a $21.2 million new position by Diamond Hill Capital Management and a 17.2% stake increase by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KNF. Weiss Ratings raised Knife River from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Stephens set a $80.00 target price on Knife River in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer began coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered Knife River from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Knife River from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.86.

Knife River Stock Down 0.2%

KNF stock opened at $67.35 on Friday. Knife River has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $96.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $938.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.39 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.23%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the second quarter valued at $21,242,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 4.9% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Knife River during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Knife River by 17.2% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 7,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Company 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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