Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Short Interest Up 9.2% in November

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the October 31st total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 376,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KNF shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Knife River from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Knife River by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 13,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Knife River by 78.3% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Knife River by 59.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 42,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,457,000 after purchasing an additional 15,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Knife River by 311.5% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 10,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of Knife River stock traded up $1.14 on Tuesday, reaching $103.52. The stock had a trading volume of 276,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,813. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Knife River has a 1 year low of $60.04 and a 1 year high of $105.63. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.70.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its quarterly 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). Knife River had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Knife River will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

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.