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

Key Points

• Knowles Corporation's stock hit a new 52-week high at $22.78 during trading, with substantial volume of 74,813 shares.
• Analysts have updated their ratings for Knowles, with several upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and raising the target price to $22.00.
• Insider trading revealed significant stock sales by executives, with one SVP reducing their stake by 45.75% and another VP decreasing theirs by 13.79%.

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.76 and last traded at $22.78, with a volume of 74813 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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 $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.49 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.63.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total transaction of $1,148,981.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total transaction of $209,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 62,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. The trade was 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Knowles by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 436,464 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 66,202 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Knowles by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,477 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Knowles by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 157,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,131,000 after buying an additional 93,309 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Knowles by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,237 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 8,061 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Knowles in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knowles

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.