Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the October 31st total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 376,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KNF shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Knife River from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

Knife River Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KNF traded up $1.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.52. The company had a trading volume of 276,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,813. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.01. Knife River has a one year low of $60.04 and a one year high of $105.63.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 12.2% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,064,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,785,000 after buying an additional 224,373 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Knife River by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,003,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34,646 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Knife River by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,561,000 after purchasing an additional 26,198 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Knife River by 5.3% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 761,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,377,000 after purchasing an additional 38,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is owned by 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.