Brokerages Set Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) PT at $76.20

Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.67.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KNF. Wolfe Research began coverage on Knife River in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Stephens began coverage on Knife River in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Knife River by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,982,000 after purchasing an additional 19,125 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 87.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 49,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after acquiring an additional 23,022 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 136,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,034,000 after acquiring an additional 73,147 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,398,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,546,000 after acquiring an additional 199,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $6,130,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Knife River Price Performance

Knife River stock opened at $71.45 on Friday. Knife River has a 12 month low of $41.53 and a 12 month high of $83.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.67 and its 200-day moving average is $71.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $329.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($516.50) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Knife River will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.