Knowles (NYSE:KN) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on KN. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price target on Knowles in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

Knowles Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of KN opened at $27.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.47 and a beta of 1.52. Knowles has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $27.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $162.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.23 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 7.45%.Knowles’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Knowles has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Insider Activity

In other Knowles news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $1,987,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 739,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,593,305. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $267,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 102,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,729,008.25. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 241,051 shares of company stock worth $6,156,777. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Knowles by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Knowles during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Knowles during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.