StockNews.com Upgrades Knowles (NYSE:KN) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Knowles Price Performance

Shares of KN stock opened at $17.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.36. Knowles has a fifty-two week low of $12.78 and a fifty-two week high of $19.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.33.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.16). Knowles had a negative net margin of 24.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $204.70 million during the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In related news, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $193,214.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 211,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $217,490.91. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,051.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $193,214.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 211,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,748 shares of company stock valued at $530,948. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knowles in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Knowles by 114.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Knowles by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).