Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Knife River from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Knife River from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knife River currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.33.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNF opened at $74.92 on Monday. Knife River has a 1-year low of $58.72 and a 1-year high of $108.83. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.17.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.07. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.97% and a net margin of 4.87%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KNF. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 21.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 119,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,318,000 after acquiring an additional 21,329 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the first quarter worth approximately $416,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Knife River by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 1st quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 1st quarter valued at about $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.