Knowles (NYSE:KN) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on KN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 price target on Knowles in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.67.

Knowles Price Performance

Knowles stock opened at $34.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Knowles has a 12 month low of $19.29 and a 12 month high of $42.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.08 and its 200-day moving average is $31.29.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 10.63%.The firm had revenue of $166.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Knowles will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total value of $753,901.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 175,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,562,908.60. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 6,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.28, for a total value of $224,137.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 127,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,641,844.60. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 169,236 shares of company stock worth $5,728,034. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Knowles by 35.9% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,151 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Knowles by 0.6% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 76,098 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Knowles by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Knowles by 5.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,137 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 53,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.