Knowles (NYSE:KN) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

KN has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Knowles Stock Down 1.1 %

Knowles stock opened at $17.72 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.42. Knowles has a 52 week low of $12.78 and a 52 week high of $19.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $204.70 million for the quarter. Knowles had a negative net margin of 24.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total value of $120,243.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,541,112.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Knowles news, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total value of $120,243.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,541,112.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $193,214.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 211,200 shares in the company, valued at $3,907,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,748 shares of company stock worth $530,948. 2.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KN. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Knowles by 114.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Knowles by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).