Knowles (NYSE:KN) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KN. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 price target on Knowles in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Knowles from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.67.

Knowles Stock Down 0.4%

Knowles stock opened at $36.75 on Tuesday. Knowles has a 52 week low of $20.57 and a 52 week high of $42.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $166.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.97 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 10.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knowles will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Raymond Cabrera sold 6,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.28, for a total transaction of $224,137.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 127,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,641,844.60. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cheryl Shavers sold 6,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,842.21. This represents a 15.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the second quarter valued at approximately $571,614,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Knowles by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 217,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,582,000 after buying an additional 86,563 shares in the last quarter. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,853,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $21,025,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $20,513,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global supplier of advanced audio, electronic and specialty component technologies. The company develops products that enable sound capture, processing and delivery in applications ranging from consumer electronics and communications equipment to medical devices and industrial systems.

Knowles’ product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers and related acoustic components. It also provides capacitors, resistors and other specialty electronic components, as well as precision devices used in medical, defense, aerospace and other demanding applications.

With operations and customers across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets, Knowles serves manufacturers in the consumer electronics, mobile communications, hearing health, automotive, industrial and aerospace and defense sectors.