Aberdeen Group plc Sells 148,012 Shares of Knife River Corporation $KNF

Aberdeen Group plc cut its stake in shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,012 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Knife River were worth $8,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Knife River during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,020,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at $53,260,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Knife River by 30.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 787,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,311,000 after buying an additional 182,462 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Knife River by 71.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 354,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,971,000 after acquiring an additional 147,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Knife River by 27.2% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 685,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,998,000 after acquiring an additional 146,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Stock Up 2.8%

KNF opened at $90.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.79 and a 200-day moving average of $75.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.47. Knife River Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.72 and a fifty-two week high of $103.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.54.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. Knife River had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $755.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KNF. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised Knife River to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. B. Riley Financial began coverage on Knife River in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Knife River 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.