Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the June 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 382,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Knife River Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of KNF traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.90. The company had a trading volume of 12,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,703. Knife River has a 52 week low of $42.35 and a 52 week high of $83.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.04). Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $329.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($516.50) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,044,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,004,000 after buying an additional 503,892 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Knife River by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,398,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,546,000 after purchasing an additional 199,389 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Knife River by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,150,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after purchasing an additional 373,359 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Knife River by 122.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 819,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,221,000 after purchasing an additional 450,574 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Knife River during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,548,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KNF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

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.