Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,522 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,980 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Knife River were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Knife River by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,091 shares of the company's stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knife River by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Knife River by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,677 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Knife River by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 44,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 11,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Knife River by 7.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KNF. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Knife River in a research report on Monday, March 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Knife River in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.40.

Knife River Price Performance

KNF stock traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.67. The stock had a trading volume of 330,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,059. Knife River Co. has a 52-week low of $66.13 and a 52-week high of $108.83. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $92.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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