ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) by 20.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,255 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,681 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Knife River were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KNF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,044,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,004,000 after buying an additional 503,892 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Knife River by 122.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 819,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,221,000 after acquiring an additional 450,574 shares in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Knife River by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,150,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after acquiring an additional 373,359 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Knife River by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,064,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,785,000 after purchasing an additional 224,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackBarn Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,934,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Stock Performance

Knife River stock opened at $89.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.39. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Knife River Co. has a 1-year low of $46.51 and a 1-year high of $93.77.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.13. Knife River had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 6.88%. The company had revenue of $806.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $803.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens began coverage on Knife River in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

About Knife River

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.