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

Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.67.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KNF shares. Stephens began coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,548,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Knife River by 122.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 819,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,221,000 after buying an additional 450,574 shares during the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,150,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after buying an additional 373,359 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Knife River by 4,029.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 251,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,649,000 after acquiring an additional 245,475 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Knife River Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE KNF opened at $72.73 on Thursday. Knife River has a 52 week low of $42.13 and a 52 week high of $83.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.11 and its 200 day moving average is $72.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion and a P/E ratio of 23.46.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.84) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by ($0.04). Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $329.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($516.50) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.