Knowles (NYSE:KN) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.33 and last traded at $24.99, with a volume of 33179 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price objective on Knowles in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Craig Hallum set a $28.00 price objective on Knowles and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Knowles to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knowles currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Knowles Trading Down 3.5%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.08. Knowles had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $152.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Knowles news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 98,252 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.71, for a total value of $2,329,554.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 939,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,272,462.70. The trade was a 9.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 236,656 shares of company stock worth $5,658,969. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Knowles by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 14,648 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Knowles by 1.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,669 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Knowles by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,188 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Knowles by 1.8% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 44,965 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 19,691 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.