Knowles (NYSE:KN) Reaches New 12-Month 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knowles to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Craig Hallum set a $28.00 price objective on Knowles and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 target price on Knowles in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knowles currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 51.97 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.60 and a 200-day moving average of $21.90. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.08. Knowles had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 7.27%.The business had revenue of $152.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 50,000 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $1,237,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 839,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,774,407.50. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 236,656 shares of company stock valued at $5,658,969 over the last quarter. 2.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Knowles in the second quarter valued at about $278,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Knowles by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 71,984 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knowles by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,553 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 10,672 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Knowles by 161.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 489,101 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,618,000 after acquiring an additional 302,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Knowles by 6.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,220,236 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $21,635,000 after purchasing an additional 70,078 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.