Short Interest in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) Decreases By 6.5%

Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,150,000 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the January 15th total of 3,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 597,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Knowles Stock Down 1.4 %

KN traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.59. 1,038,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 649,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $19.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.49. Knowles has a twelve month low of $15.00 and a twelve month high of $20.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.64 and a beta of 1.42.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $142.50 million during the quarter. Knowles had a negative net margin of 34.66% and a positive return on equity of 5.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KN has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum lowered shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter valued at $28,798,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Knowles by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 222,730 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,439,000 after purchasing an additional 22,315 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $251,000. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Knowles by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,237 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,061 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knowles

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).