Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Knife River in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Knife River during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Knife River during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in Knife River during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Knife River in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Knife River in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on Knife River in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on Knife River in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.20.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNF traded up $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $77.62. The company had a trading volume of 222,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,806. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.51 and a 200 day moving average of $66.05. Knife River Co. has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $83.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $646.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.47 million. Knife River had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knife River Profile

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.