Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knife River (NYSE:KNF) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

KNF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Knife River from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Knife River from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Knife River has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KNF opened at $75.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Knife River has a 52-week low of $58.72 and a 52-week high of $108.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.17.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.07. Knife River had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 9.97%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KNF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Knife River by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Knife River during the third quarter worth about $47,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Knife River by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

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.