Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.60.

Separately, Stephens began coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of KNF stock opened at $73.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.72 and a 200-day moving average of $73.81. Knife River has a one year low of $46.51 and a one year high of $83.78. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.13. Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $806.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $803.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Knife River will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Knife River in the fourth quarter worth about $40,548,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,044,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,004,000 after purchasing an additional 503,892 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC lifted its position in Knife River by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,150,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after acquiring an additional 373,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 4,029.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 251,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,649,000 after buying an additional 245,475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Company Profile

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.