Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Analysts at Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Knife River (NYSE:KNF) in a report released on Thursday. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 23.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KNF. Wall Street Zen raised Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Stephens increased their price target on Knife River from $86.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Knife River from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Knife River from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Knife River Stock Performance

KNF stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.99. The stock had a trading volume of 23,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,787. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.01. Knife River has a fifty-two week low of $58.72 and a fifty-two week high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.06 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.35%. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.21) EPS. Analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Knife River by 284.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 4,730 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $424,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 227,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,529,000 after acquiring an additional 32,762 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Knife River by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,101,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,542,000 after acquiring an additional 12,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Knife River by 71.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 354,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,971,000 after acquiring an additional 147,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.