Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.15), Zacks reports. Knife River had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Knife River’s conference call:

• Third-quarter performance was resilient, with revenue up 6% to $1.3 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $272 million and a margin above 21%. Aggregates led results, with volumes up 10%, mid-single-digit pricing growth and gross margin expanding 240 basis points to nearly 30%.
• The company introduced its Sharper EDGE program, targeting operational, commercial and organizational improvements over the next three years. Knife River plans to invest more than $125 million in aggregate operations and expects the initiatives to add approximately $1 per ton to aggregate gross profit, alongside further SG&A and productivity benefits.
• Contracting services continued to face fewer bid lettings, project delays, higher fuel and input costs, and increased competition; second-half contracting margins are expected at 8%-9%. Backlog fell 14% year over year to $857 million, while full-year ready-mix volume expectations were reduced to high-single-digit to low-double-digit growth.
• Knife River now expects full-year revenue of $3.375 billion-$3.425 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $475 million-$505 million, assuming normal weather and economic conditions and excluding acquisitions. Net leverage was 2.9 times at quarter-end, with the company expecting to finish the year modestly above its 2.5-times target while retaining capacity for acquisitions and organic investments.

Knife River Stock Performance

KNF stock traded up $3.74 on Wednesday, hitting $62.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 240,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 696,649. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Knife River has a 1 year low of $47.79 and a 1 year high of $96.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on KNF shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Knife River from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Knife River to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.29.

Knife River News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 6% year over year to $1.28 billion, indicating continued top-line growth. Knife River Q3 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Knife River updated its full-year 2026 earnings guidance, but the supplied report does not include the revised outlook or figures, so its implications for investors are unclear. 2026 earnings guidance update
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 adjusted earnings were $2.43 per share, below the roughly $2.58 analyst consensus and down from $2.52 a year earlier. Revenue of $1.28 billion also fell short of the $1.30 billion estimate, which may weigh on sentiment despite sales growth. Q3 earnings and revenue estimates

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company produces and sells construction aggregates, asphalt, ready-mix concrete and cement, and also provides related construction services for transportation, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

Its operations include aggregate mining and processing, asphalt and concrete production, paving, site development and other heavy-construction activities. Knife River serves public-sector and private-sector customers, including state and local governments, contractors, commercial developers and industrial businesses.

Knife River became an independent publicly traded company in 2023 after being spun off from MDU Resources Group.