Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Knife River Corporation $KNF

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) by 37.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,342 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Knife River were worth $10,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Knife River by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,915,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,431,000 after acquiring an additional 123,594 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,101,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,542,000 after purchasing an additional 12,308 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knife River by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,774,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,821,000 after purchasing an additional 648,979 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,730,000 after purchasing an additional 9,125 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Knife River by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,391,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,909,000 after purchasing an additional 144,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

Knife River Price Performance

Knife River stock opened at $77.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.37. Knife River Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.72 and a 52 week high of $96.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $410.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.06 million. Knife River had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.21) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Knife River Corporation will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knife River from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Knife River from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Knife River from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Knife River from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.14.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, is a leading integrated construction materials and contracting company in the western United States. The company specializes in producing and supplying aggregates, asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and other heavy construction materials used in highway, commercial and residential projects.

In addition to material production, Knife River offers a comprehensive suite of contracting services, including heavy civil construction, road building, underground and open-pit mining and logistics support.