Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price target on Knowles in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Knowles from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research lowered Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Knowles from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In related news, Director Cheryl Shavers sold 6,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,842.21. The trade was a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KN. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Knowles by 5.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Knowles by 34.3% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 34,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 8,828 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Knowles by 5.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,066 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Knowles by 9.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,202 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Knowles by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knowles Stock Up 1.4%

KN opened at $32.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.79 and a 200 day moving average of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07 and a beta of 1.59. Knowles has a 12 month low of $20.57 and a 12 month high of $42.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $184.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.10 million. Knowles had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 11.82%. Knowles’s revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Knowles will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components and solutions for audio, communications, medical, industrial and other specialized applications. The company develops products that support sound capture, audio processing, signal management and high-performance connectivity in a range of electronic devices and systems.

Its portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers, receivers, balanced armature drivers and other acoustic components.