Knowles (NYSE:KN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price objective on Knowles in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Knowles in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Knowles presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Knowles Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Knowles stock opened at $27.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Knowles has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $27.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.47 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.70.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Knowles had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $162.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Knowles has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In other news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 3,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.09, for a total transaction of $85,766.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 60,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,637,319.60. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 15,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.22, for a total transaction of $432,389.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 164,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,490,292.86. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 241,051 shares of company stock worth $6,156,777. 2.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KN. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Knowles by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 70,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 14,900 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Knowles by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,722 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Knowles by 7.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,557 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,626,000 after purchasing an additional 15,827 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 1st quarter worth about $3,335,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Knowles by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,995 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.