Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KNF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Knife River from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Knife River from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Knife River to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Knife River currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.71.

Knife River Stock Performance

NYSE:KNF opened at $80.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Knife River has a fifty-two week low of $58.72 and a fifty-two week high of $105.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.50.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Knife River had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 9.97%. Analysts expect that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 127.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 128,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,514,000 after acquiring an additional 72,108 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Knife River by 27.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 685,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,998,000 after purchasing an additional 146,782 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Knife River by 117.8% in the third quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 36,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 19,536 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Knife River by 2.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 181,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Knife River by 25.0% during the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,602,000 after purchasing an additional 13,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

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.