Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on KNF. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Knife River from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Knife River to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.33.

Knife River Stock Performance

NYSE:KNF opened at $79.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.05. Knife River has a twelve month low of $58.72 and a twelve month high of $108.83.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.07. Knife River had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 9.97%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank purchased a new position in Knife River in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Knife River during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Knife River during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.