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

Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, an increase 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Knife River from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knife River

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Knife River by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Knife River by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Knife River during the 4th quarter worth $3,332,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $5,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Knife River by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:KNF traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $102.34. The stock had a trading volume of 21,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,993. Knife River has a 12-month low of $65.65 and a 12-month high of $108.83. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.69 and a 200 day moving average of $91.51.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Knife River had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 15.22%. Knife River’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Knife River will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current 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.