Knowles (NYSE:KN) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

KN has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Knowles from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Knowles Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KN opened at $17.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Knowles has a 1-year low of $12.78 and a 1-year high of $19.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.60 and a 200-day moving average of $17.31.

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

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other news, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total value of $120,243.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,112.96. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. In related news, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $193,214.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 211,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total transaction of $120,243.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,541,112.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,748 shares of company stock valued at $530,948 over the last three months. 2.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knowles during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Knowles by 114.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Knowles by 37.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knowles during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).