Knowles (NYSE:KN) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.98 and last traded at $39.6340, with a volume of 3089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knowles presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Knowles Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 62.12 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $153.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 9.10%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. Analysts predict that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total transaction of $111,986.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 47,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,357.79. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $753,901.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 175,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,562,908.60. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 173,058 shares of company stock valued at $5,809,156 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 70,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,722 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Knowles by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,557 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,626,000 after purchasing an additional 15,827 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Knowles in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,335,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.