Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.20.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KNF shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock.

Knife River Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KNF stock opened at $78.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.15. Knife River has a fifty-two week low of $33.67 and a fifty-two week high of $83.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. Knife River had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $646.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.47 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Knife River will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 17,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Company Profile

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.