Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $93.97, but opened at $90.53. Knife River shares last traded at $91.22, with a volume of 194,854 shares traded.

Knife River News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Knife River this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings and revenue beat consensus — EPS $0.56 vs $0.41 and revenue $755.1M (up ~15% y/y), demonstrating continued top-line momentum. Business Wire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY?2026 targets to $3.3B–$3.5B revenue and $520M–$560M adjusted EBITDA, signaling management expects sustained demand and margin improvement. Seeking Alpha: 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted backlog-driven momentum and progress on vertical integration initiatives that could support sustained revenue and margin expansion. TipRanks: Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcript are available for deeper review if you want line-item detail and management Q&A. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term share weakness likely reflects profit-taking after the post-earnings rally (the stock ran up sharply on the beat/guidance) plus valuation and liquidity considerations—KNF trades at a ~34.8x PE and volume was below average today, which can amplify volatility. Yahoo: Post-earnings Move

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KNF shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Knife River from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial started coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Knife River Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.41.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $755.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.60 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 9.97%. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in Knife River during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $169,020,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,166,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,260,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,774,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,821,000 after acquiring an additional 648,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voss Capital LP bought a new position in Knife River during the third quarter worth $33,823,000. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

About Knife River

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.