Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Invests $2.70 Million in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,703,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Knife River by 10.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 421,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,201,000 after purchasing an additional 39,991 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 51,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,220,000 after acquiring an additional 13,199 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 24.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,278,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Knife River by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,003,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Knife River by 599.5% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 19,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,750,000 after buying an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNF traded down $7.66 on Friday, reaching $93.69. 313,546 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,588. The company's 50 day moving average is $102.22 and its 200-day moving average is $93.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.76. Knife River Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.13 and a fifty-two week high of $108.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $657.20 million during 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Knife River Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KNF. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Knife River from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Knife River in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on 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 four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Knife River has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.50.

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.