Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $80.77, but opened at $74.00. Knife River shares last traded at $76.57, with a volume of 46,711 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.84) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $329.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 6.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($516.50) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Loop Capital began coverage on Knife River in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knife River presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,825,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in Knife River by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 48,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River during the first quarter worth $206,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 4.8% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Knife River by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,444,000 after purchasing an additional 60,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.97. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.15.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.