Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Down 5.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) traded down 5.6% on Wednesday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $120.00. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Knife River traded as low as $84.88 and last traded at $84.19. 622,871 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 464,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.18.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KNF. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Knife River in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Knife River from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Knife River presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNF. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Knife River in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,201,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter worth $2,703,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Knife River by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 696,245 shares of the company's stock worth $70,766,000 after buying an additional 16,698 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Knife River by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 154,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.78. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.67.

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

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.