Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

KNF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Knife River from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $80.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Knife River from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Knife River from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.86.

Knife River Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE KNF opened at $61.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.46 and a 200-day moving average of $79.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.38. Knife River has a 52 week low of $58.72 and a 52 week high of $96.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.23%.The firm had revenue of $938.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Knife River by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Knife River by 1,088.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Knife River during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.