Knowles (NYSE:KN) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $18.25, but opened at $16.70. Knowles shares last traded at $17.52, with a volume of 281,514 shares.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.16% and a negative net margin of 27.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Knowles by 114.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Knowles by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Knowles by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Knowles in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Knowles by 835.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,448 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knowles Trading Down 3.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.58 and its 200-day moving average is $18.48.

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).