Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Upgraded at DA Davidson

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was upgraded by DA Davidson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on KNF. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Knife River from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Knife River from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.86.

Knife River Price Performance

Knife River stock opened at $66.13 on Monday. Knife River has a 12-month low of $58.72 and a 12-month high of $96.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its earnings results 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). Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $938.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Knife River will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 8,210.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,491,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,388,000 after buying an additional 5,425,711 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Knife River by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,915,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,431,000 after acquiring an additional 123,594 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Knife River by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,101,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,542,000 after acquiring an additional 12,308 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Knife River by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,774,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,821,000 after acquiring an additional 648,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Knife River by 5.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,464,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,579,000 after purchasing an additional 73,028 shares during the period. 80.11% of the stock is 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.