Knowles (NYSE:KN) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Knowles Corporation's shares reached a new 52-week high of $24.52 during mid-day trading, closing at $24.34 with a volume of nearly 100,000 shares traded.
• Analysts upgraded Knowles from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, and the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $21.00.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales by company executives, with one SVP reducing their stake by 45.75%.

Shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.52 and last traded at $24.34, with a volume of 99971 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Knowles in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 84.14 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.31.

Insider Activity

In other Knowles news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total transaction of $1,148,981.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 66,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. This trade represents a 45.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total value of $209,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 62,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. This trade represents a 13.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Knowles in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,289 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Knowles by 94.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Knowles by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 296,529 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 18,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 385.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,633 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).

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