Knowles (NYSE:KN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the stock's performance.
• Craig Hallum raised their price target for Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $21.00.
• Recent insider trading included VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica selling 10,000 shares and SVP Robert J. Perna selling 56,130 shares, indicating significant changes in executive holdings.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Separately, Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.00.

Knowles Price Performance

KN stock traded up $0.60 on Friday, reaching $22.80. 736,717 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 517,217. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.41 and a 200-day moving average of $17.68. Knowles has a twelve month low of $12.19 and a twelve month high of $23.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 78.62 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In related news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 $1,309,524.78. This trade represents a 13.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total value of $1,148,981.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knowles by 3.9% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 4,657,747 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $70,798,000 after acquiring an additional 174,549 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,592,223 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $39,402,000 after purchasing an additional 92,792 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,611,679 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $24,498,000 after purchasing an additional 386,155 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter worth about $28,798,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,220,236 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $21,635,000 after purchasing an additional 70,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock.

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).