Contrasting Amrize (NYSE:AMRZ) and Knife River (NYSE:KNF)

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) and Amrize (NYSE:AMRZ) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.1% of Knife River shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Knife River shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Amrize shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Knife River and Amrize’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knife River	4.23%	8.73%	3.65%
Amrize	9.89%	10.22%	5.48%

Volatility & Risk

Knife River has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amrize has a beta of 0.04, meaning that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Knife River and Amrize, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knife River	3	2	5	1	2.36
Amrize	4	8	6	1	2.21

Knife River presently has a consensus price target of $84.29, indicating a potential upside of 54.77%. Amrize has a consensus price target of $54.88, indicating a potential upside of 46.04%. Given Knife River’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Knife River is more favorable than Amrize.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Knife River and Amrize”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knife River	$3.15 billion	0.98	$157.07 million	$2.45	22.23
Amrize	$11.81 billion	1.76	$1.19 billion	$2.17	17.32

Amrize has higher revenue and earnings than Knife River. Amrize is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knife River, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Amrize beats Knife River on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete. It also provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading. In addition, the company sells cement, merchandise, and other building materials and related services. The company sells its construction materials to public and private-sector customers, including federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as industrial, commercial and residential developers, and other private parties; and provides its contracting services to public-sector customers for the development and servicing of highways, local roads, bridges, and other public-infrastructure projects. Knife River Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.

About Amrize

Amrize AG focuses on building materials business in North America. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Zug, Switzerland. Amrize AG operates independently of Holcim AG as of June 23, 2025.