Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.1429.

KNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Knife River from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 4.9% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Knife River during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Knife River by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in Knife River during the 1st quarter worth $97,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,942,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Knife River Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Knife River stock opened at $78.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.13 and a 200-day moving average of $81.25. Knife River has a 52-week low of $58.72 and a 52-week high of $96.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.37.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $410.13 million during 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.21) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

About Knife River

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.