Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Knife River shares gapped down to $80.00 after reporting disappointing quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.89 falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.51.
• Despite the earnings miss, equity research analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating for Knife River, with price targets as high as $129.00.
• Institutional investors hold 80.11% of Knife River's stock, with significant increases in positions by firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Pictet Asset Management.

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $84.36, but opened at $80.00. Knife River shares last traded at $79.28, with a volume of 153,151 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.38). Knife River had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The company had revenue of $833.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $902.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KNF shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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 cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $114.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Knife River by 45.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,936,532 shares of the company's stock worth $196,829,000 after buying an additional 603,170 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Knife River by 4,145.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,667,822 shares of the company's stock worth $150,456,000 after buying an additional 1,628,535 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,726 shares of the company's stock worth $113,960,000 after buying an additional 15,464 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Knife River by 40.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,236,929 shares of the company's stock worth $111,583,000 after buying an additional 357,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Knife River by 7.1% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,179,797 shares of the company's stock worth $106,429,000 after buying an additional 78,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Knife River Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $83.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Knife River Company Profile

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.