Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Stock Falls 5.1% – Here’s Why

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF)’s stock price traded down 5.1% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $49.74 and last traded at $49.6280. Approximately 76,642 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 694,522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on KNF shares. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Knife River in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Stephens set a $80.00 target price on shares of Knife River in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.71.

Knife River Trading Down 4.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.76 and its 200-day moving average is $74.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $938.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Knife River Corporation will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Knife River by 74.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Knife River by 1,088.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Knife River in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knife River during the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company serving public and private infrastructure markets across the western and north-central United States. The company produces and supplies essential construction materials, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and related products.

In addition to materials production, Knife River provides construction services such as asphalt paving, concrete construction, site development, excavation and other heavy civil work.