Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Knife River shares rose 6.1% and traded above their 50-day moving average of $55.90, reaching as high as $58.68.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with ratings ranging from strong buy to sell; the overall consensus is “Hold” with a $69.29 price target.
• The company’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $0.77 per share versus the $1.13 consensus estimate, although revenue increased 12.6% year over year to $938.59 million.

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.90 and traded as high as $58.68. Knife River shares last traded at $57.5670, with a volume of 575,476 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Knife River to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Knife River from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Knife River from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Knife River from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Knife River has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Knife River Stock Up 6.1%

The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $938.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Knife River by 5.3% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,042 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Knife River by 74.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 590 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Knife River by 2.7% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,604 shares of the company's stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company produces and sells construction aggregates, asphalt, ready-mix concrete and cement, and also provides related construction services for transportation, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

Its operations include aggregate mining and processing, asphalt and concrete production, paving, site development and other heavy-construction activities. Knife River serves public-sector and private-sector customers, including state and local governments, contractors, commercial developers and industrial businesses.

Knife River became an independent publicly traded company in 2023 after being spun off from MDU Resources Group.

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