Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Stock Price Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) traded down 6.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $87.76 and last traded at $87.12. 272,088 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 612,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KNF. 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. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

Knife River Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.53.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Knife River had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $410.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.21) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Knife River

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Knife River by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 198.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

About Knife River

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.