Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Short Interest Update

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) saw a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the May 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 340,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Knife River Price Performance

NYSE KNF opened at $70.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.81. Knife River has a 12-month low of $41.53 and a 12-month high of $83.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion and a PE ratio of 22.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by ($0.04). Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $329.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($516.50) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Knife River by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,982,000 after buying an additional 19,125 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 115.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 136,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,034,000 after acquiring an additional 73,147 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Knife River by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,398,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,546,000 after acquiring an additional 199,389 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new position in Knife River during the 1st quarter valued at $4,408,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $6,130,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KNF shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

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.