Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Investment analysts at Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Knife River (NYSE:KNF) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer’s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Knife River from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Knife River Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Knife River stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,787. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.69 and a 200 day moving average of $79.01. Knife River has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $96.12.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 4.58%.The business had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.21) EPS. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Knife River by 1,088.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Knife River by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Knife River by 124.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.