Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Stock Price Down 9.1% – Should You Sell?

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF)’s share price dropped 9.1% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $50.92 and last traded at $50.76. 888,600 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 661,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KNF. DA Davidson started coverage on Knife River in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Knife River from $73.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. 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 assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.14.

Knife River Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.42. 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 (NYSE:KNF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.23%.The company had revenue of $938.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Knife River by 5.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,464,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,579,000 after acquiring an additional 73,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Knife River by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,730,000 after purchasing an additional 9,125 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,166,000. Voss Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 710,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,952,000 after purchasing an additional 270,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $32,753,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company that produces and supplies essential materials for public and private infrastructure projects. Its principal products include construction aggregates, ready-mix concrete and asphalt, along with related paving and contracting services.

The company operates an integrated network of quarries, sand and gravel sites, asphalt and concrete plants, and construction operations. Its services support highways, bridges, airports, commercial developments, residential projects and other infrastructure improvements.