Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stake in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its position in Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) by 39.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,836 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,388 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Knife River were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paradice Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,001,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Knife River by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 255,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,978,000 after acquiring an additional 119,452 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC grew its position in Knife River by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 73,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,839 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Knife River by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 95,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 13,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Knife River by 214.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 89,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,312,000 after purchasing an additional 61,053 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of KNF stock opened at $65.96 on Thursday. Knife River Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.72 and a twelve month high of $96.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.42.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $938.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.39 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Knife River Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KNF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Knife River from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Knife River from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens set a $80.00 target price on shares of Knife River in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.71.

Knife River 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.