Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.2857.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KNF. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth $71,166,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 57.7% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth $32,753,000. Voss Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the third quarter worth $33,823,000. Finally, Paradice Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth $22,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNF opened at $92.49 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. 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 has a one year low of $58.72 and a one year high of $96.28.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.06 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 4.58%.Knife River’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.21) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.