Wall Street Zen Upgrades Knowles (NYSE:KN) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Knowles (NYSE:KN) from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Brokerages like Robert W. Baird and Craig Hallum have also raised their price targets for Knowles, with Baird setting it at $22.00 and Craig Hallum at $22.00, reflecting an optimistic outlook.
• Knowles shares have seen significant institutional investment, with firms like Versant Capital Management and Sterling Capital Management increasing their positions dramatically in recent quarters.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KN. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday.

Knowles Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE KN opened at $20.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Knowles has a twelve month low of $12.19 and a twelve month high of $20.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 71.90 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day moving average is $17.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total transaction of $95,651.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 111,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,683.50. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KN. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Knowles by 725.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Knowles by 835.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Knowles by 47.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Knowles in the first quarter worth about $106,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Knowles by 118.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. 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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