Knowles (NYSE:KN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $25.33 and last traded at $24.99, with a volume of 33179 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Knowles to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $28.00 target price on shares of Knowles and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Knowles Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.60 and its 200-day moving average is $21.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.08. Knowles had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm had revenue of $152.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Knowles news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 50,000 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $1,237,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 839,370 shares in the company, valued at $20,774,407.50. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 236,656 shares of company stock valued at $5,658,969 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 365.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Knowles in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,510,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 10.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $119,072,000 after buying an additional 484,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $31,723,000 after buying an additional 470,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,340,000 after acquiring an additional 469,286 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knowles Company Profile

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.