Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $96.28 and last traded at $95.0980, with a volume of 82378 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KNF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Knife River Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $82.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.15.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $410.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.06 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 4.58%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KNF. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Knife River by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 1,088.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Knife River by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Knife River by 198.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.