Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the December 15th total of 1,610,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 426,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KNF shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Knife River has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Knife River by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 421,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,201,000 after buying an additional 39,991 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Knife River by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 51,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,220,000 after acquiring an additional 13,199 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Knife River by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,278,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 599.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL bought a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 3rd quarter valued at about $567,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knife River Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KNF traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.91. The company had a trading volume of 316,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,777. Knife River has a 52 week low of $62.10 and a 52 week high of $108.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.34 and its 200-day moving average is $89.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by ($0.22). The company 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 revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Knife River will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Knife River

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.