Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.42 and last traded at $101.54, with a volume of 26509 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KNF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Knife River from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

Knife River Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.74.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.82 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Knife River had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 6.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Knife River Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the 3rd quarter valued at $365,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,561,000 after buying an additional 26,198 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Knife River by 156.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,205,000 after acquiring an additional 103,713 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in Knife River during the third quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Knife River by 7.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.