Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $108.57 and last traded at $108.00, with a volume of 40505 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.75.

Knife River Price Performance

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.78.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Knife River had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 15.22%. Knife River’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Knife River Co. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Knife River by 129.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 586.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

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.