Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KNF. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KNF. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter worth about $3,332,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 54,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,489,000 after buying an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Stock Performance

NYSE:KNF opened at $103.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $102.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Knife River has a 12 month low of $65.65 and a 12 month high of $108.83.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Knife River had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knife River will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.