Knowles (NYSE:KN) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Knowles hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $33.56 (last $33.29) on ~1.35M shares and was up about 4.3% during the move.
• The company beat Q1 expectations with $0.27 EPS (vs. $0.24) and $153.1M revenue—up 15.8% year‑over‑year—and issued Q2 guidance of $0.280–0.320 EPS.
• Analysts are mixed (two Buys, three Holds) with recent price-target raises to $38 and $39 but a consensus target of $33.33, while insiders sold ~183,742 shares in the last 90 days and institutional ownership stands at ~96.35%.

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.56 and last traded at $33.2920, with a volume of 1353287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on KN shares. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knowles from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Knowles Stock Up 4.3%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $27.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.02 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $153.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $147.40 million. Knowles had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 15,885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.22, for a total value of $432,389.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 164,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,490,292.86. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $321,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 48,200 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 183,742 shares of company stock worth $4,980,039. 2.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $119,072,000 after purchasing an additional 484,500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,806,916 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $60,152,000 after purchasing an additional 205,573 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 5.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 365.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 52.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knowles Company Profile

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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