Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 387,785 Shares of Knowles Corporation $KN

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 41.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,319,834 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 387,785 shares during the quarter. Knowles makes up 1.5% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Knowles were worth $49,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles in the third quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Knowles by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 15,379 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Knowles by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Knowles by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 34,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 8,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Knowles by 5.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,066 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Stock Performance

KN opened at $33.66 on Thursday. Knowles Corporation has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $42.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.07.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $184.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.10 million. Knowles had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The business’s revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Knowles Corporation will post 1.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In related news, Director Cheryl Shavers sold 6,618 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total value of $259,888.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,842.21. The trade was a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Knowles from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Knowles from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knowles currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components and solutions for audio, communications, medical, industrial and other specialized applications. The company develops products that support sound capture, audio processing, signal management and high-performance connectivity in a range of electronic devices and systems.

Its portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers, receivers, balanced armature drivers and other acoustic components.