Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) by 37.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,342 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Knife River worth $10,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $71,166,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Knife River by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,774,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,821,000 after purchasing an additional 648,979 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Knife River during the 4th quarter worth $32,753,000. Paradice Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Knife River in the fourth quarter valued at $22,001,000. Finally, Voss Capital LP increased its stake in Knife River by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 710,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,952,000 after purchasing an additional 270,048 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Stock Up 0.4%

KNF stock opened at $77.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.06 and a 200-day moving average of $81.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.67. Knife River Corporation has a one year low of $58.72 and a one year high of $96.28.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.06 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.21) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

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.