Smith Moore & CO. Makes New Investment in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Smith Moore & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Knife River by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 72.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Knife River in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Knife River by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KNF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Knife River in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Knife River in a research report on Monday, March 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $110.40.

Knife River Trading Down 7.3 %

Knife River stock opened at $83.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. Knife River Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.13 and a fifty-two week high of $108.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $657.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.80 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.96%. Equities research analysts forecast that Knife River Co. will post 4.11 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.