Knowles (NYSE:KN) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• 52-week high: Knowles shares rose to a new 52-week high of $28.76 on Friday, last trading at $28.68 on volume of 345,532 shares, above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Quarterly beat and guidance: Knowles reported Q4 EPS of $0.36 (vs. $0.35 consensus) and revenue of $162.2M (up 13.8% YoY), and set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.220–$0.260 EPS.
• Mixed sentiment and insider activity: Analysts average a "Hold" rating with a $27.67 target, while insiders sold about 248,742 shares (~$6.55M) last quarter despite ~96.35% institutional ownership.

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.76 and last traded at $28.68, with a volume of 345532 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Knowles in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

Knowles Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Knowles had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $162.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Knowles has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Knowles news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 9,221 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total transaction of $257,081.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 12,000 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $321,120.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 48,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,832. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 248,742 shares of company stock worth $6,549,780 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Knowles by 10.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $119,072,000 after buying an additional 484,500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Knowles by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,806,916 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $60,152,000 after buying an additional 205,573 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its position in shares of Knowles by 5.6% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 1,421,713 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,140,000 after purchasing an additional 75,367 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Knowles by 365.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,394,341 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $32,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,715 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Knowles by 52.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,360,918 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $31,723,000 after purchasing an additional 470,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation NYSE: KN is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company's product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.

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