Knowles (NYSE:KN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 target price on Knowles in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.67.

Knowles Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Knowles stock opened at $34.52 on Tuesday. Knowles has a 1-year low of $19.29 and a 1-year high of $42.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 1.59.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 10.63%.The company had revenue of $166.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Knowles will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In other Knowles news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 142,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $4,749,995.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 883,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,383,656.75. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total value of $753,901.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 175,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,562,908.60. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,236 shares of company stock worth $5,728,034. Insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $119,072,000 after acquiring an additional 484,500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Knowles by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,806,916 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,152,000 after purchasing an additional 205,573 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Knowles by 365.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,394,341 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,715 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Knowles by 52.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,360,918 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,723,000 after purchasing an additional 470,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 825,344 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $19,239,000 after buying an additional 57,899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.