StockNews.com Upgrades Knowles (NYSE:KN) to Buy

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Knowles from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Knowles Stock Performance

Knowles stock opened at $17.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.36. Knowles has a one year low of $12.78 and a one year high of $19.73.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $204.70 million for the quarter. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 24.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $217,490.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $846,051.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $193,214.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 211,200 shares in the company, valued at $3,907,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $217,490.91. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $846,051.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,748 shares of company stock worth $530,948. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KN. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Knowles by 569.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 665,947 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $11,494,000 after acquiring an additional 566,476 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Knowles by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,678,995 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $115,277,000 after acquiring an additional 375,822 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $3,468,000. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in Knowles by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,187,144 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,513,000 after acquiring an additional 183,991 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $2,777,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).