Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Knife River by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 34,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in Knife River by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 121,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,066,000 after acquiring an additional 21,136 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Knife River by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Knife River by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Knife River by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KNF shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.20.

Knife River Price Performance

KNF stock opened at $77.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Knife River Co. has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $83.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.05.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $646.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.47 million. Knife River had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Knife River 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.