Norges Bank Invests $66.63 Million in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 655,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,631,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 90.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 5,746 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Knife River in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,332,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Knife River by 130.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,057 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Knife River by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Knife River in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on KNF shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Knife River in a research note on Monday, March 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Knife River in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $110.40.

Knife River Trading Down 4.4 %

Knife River stock opened at $91.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.67. Knife River Co. has a 52 week low of $66.13 and a 52 week high of $108.83.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Knife River had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.96%. The company had revenue of $657.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.80 million. Analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.