Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KNF. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Knife River by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,982,000 after purchasing an additional 19,125 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Knife River by 115.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 136,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,034,000 after purchasing an additional 73,147 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Knife River by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,398,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,546,000 after purchasing an additional 199,389 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new stake in Knife River during the 1st quarter worth $4,408,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Knife River during the 4th quarter worth $6,130,000. 80.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knife River Price Performance

Shares of Knife River stock traded up $1.18 on Friday, hitting $71.24. The company had a trading volume of 6,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,111. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion and a PE ratio of 22.60. Knife River Co. has a 52 week low of $41.53 and a 52 week high of $83.78.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.04). Knife River had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $329.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($516.50) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Knife River Co. will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KNF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Knife River in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knife River presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

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.