Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Short Interest Up 6.2% in January

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) was the recipient of a large 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 daily volume of 426,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital reduced 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. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Knife River Stock Performance

Knife River stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.88. 37,339 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,517. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.76. 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $102.69 and its 200-day moving average is $91.51.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Knife River had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 6.89%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Knife River by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,003,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34,646 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,561,000 after buying an additional 26,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Knife River by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after buying an additional 5,791 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 696,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,766,000 after purchasing an additional 16,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 660,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,017,000 after purchasing an additional 13,490 shares in the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Company Profile

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.