GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Knife River Corporation $KNF

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 192,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,247 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Knife River were worth $14,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Knife River by 5.8% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 3.9% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 35.5% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Knife River by 141.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Knife River by 4.6% during the third quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Stock Performance

Shares of Knife River stock opened at $80.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.50. Knife River Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.72 and a 52 week high of $103.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.27.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $755.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.60 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on KNF. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Knife River from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Knife River in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Knife River from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knife River from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Knife River from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.43.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.