Zacks Research Downgrades Knowles (NYSE:KN) to Strong Sell

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Knowles Trading Up 2.3%

KN opened at $27.27 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $27.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.47 and a beta of 1.52.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business 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%.The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Knowles has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 10,000 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $267,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 102,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,729,008.25. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 3,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.09, for a total value of $85,766.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 60,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,637,319.60. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 241,051 shares of company stock worth $6,156,777 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Knowles by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,553 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 10,672 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Knowles by 161.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 489,101 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,618,000 after acquiring an additional 302,008 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 26.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 247,826 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,367,000 after purchasing an additional 52,552 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Knowles by 10.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,047 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,388,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

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.