Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) 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 Roundup

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 research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.43.

Knife River Trading Down 4.3%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KNF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 284.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 1st quarter valued at about $424,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 227,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,529,000 after acquiring an additional 32,762 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Knife River by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Knife River during the second quarter valued at approximately $273,000. 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.