Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $96.28 and last traded at $95.0980, with a volume of 82378 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KNF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knife River currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.29.

Knife River Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.40.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. Knife River had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.21) earnings per share. Knife River’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Knife River during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Knife River by 1.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Knife River by 5.0% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 19.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 392,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,050,000 after acquiring an additional 62,592 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the first quarter valued at $311,000. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

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.