Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Knife River (NYSE:KNF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on KNF. Wall Street Zen cut Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Knife River in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Stephens set a $80.00 price objective on Knife River in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson initiated 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 for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a report on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.86.

Knife River Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of KNF opened at $61.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Knife River has a 1-year low of $58.72 and a 1-year high of $96.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.82.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Knife River during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 66.3% during 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knife River during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Company Profile

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.