Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.4286.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens increased their target price on Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. B. Riley Financial began coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Knife River from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,020,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Knife River in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,166,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Knife River in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,260,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Knife River by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,774,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,821,000 after acquiring an additional 648,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voss Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 3rd quarter worth $33,823,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Price Performance

Knife River stock opened at $83.06 on Wednesday. Knife River has a 52 week low of $58.72 and a 52 week high of $103.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.02.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Knife River had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $755.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Knife River will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Knife River

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.