Knowles (NYSE:KN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $42.63 and last traded at $42.8360, with a volume of 808951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Knowles Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 66.93 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.96 and its 200 day moving average is $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 3.27.

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

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In related news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $753,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 175,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,562,908.60. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 142,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total value of $4,749,995.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 883,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,383,656.75. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 173,058 shares of company stock valued at $5,809,156 in the last 90 days. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KN. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Knowles by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,137 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Knowles by 169.4% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 274,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,058,000 after acquiring an additional 172,819 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Knowles by 239.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 86,254 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 60,822 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Knowles by 30.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Knowles by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 104,881 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 20,924 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.