Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 520,262 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 98,804 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.92% of Knife River worth $52,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNF. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Knife River by 1.8% during the third 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 boosted its stake in shares of Knife River by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,273 shares of the company's stock worth $119,561,000 after buying an additional 26,198 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 830.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,101,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,965,000 after purchasing an additional 983,223 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Knife River by 1,200.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 887,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,224,000 after buying an additional 819,439 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Knife River by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 696,245 shares of the company's stock worth $70,766,000 after buying an additional 16,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Knife River Price Performance

Knife River stock traded down $3.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $88.07. The company had a trading volume of 86,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,501. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $94.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.91. Knife River Co. has a 1 year low of $66.13 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $657.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $655.80 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.96%. On average, equities analysts predict that Knife River Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KNF shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Knife River in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Knife River in a research report on Monday, March 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Knife River from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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 price target of $110.40.

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.