Short Interest in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) Expands By 12.8%

Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,250,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the December 31st total of 2,880,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 581,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KN traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.22. The stock had a trading volume of 468,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,942. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 1.42. Knowles has a 1 year low of $14.97 and a 1 year high of $20.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Knowles by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,489 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Knowles in the second quarter worth $381,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Knowles by 222.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 82,387 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 56,825 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Knowles by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 44,633 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 11.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 148,580 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 14,688 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised Knowles to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).