Knowles (NYSE:KN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

KN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Knowles from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Knowles from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price target on Knowles in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knowles has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

NYSE:KN opened at $34.97 on Wednesday. Knowles has a 1 year low of $20.57 and a 1 year high of $42.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.55 and a 200-day moving average of $32.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64 and a beta of 1.59.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $184.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Knowles’s revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knowles will post 1.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other news, Director Cheryl Shavers sold 6,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,842.21. The trade was a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter valued at $571,614,000. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $117,000,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,398,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Knowles by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 809,015 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $20,776,000 after purchasing an additional 25,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Knowles during the second quarter worth about $30,158,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components and solutions for audio, communications, medical, industrial and other specialized applications. The company develops products that support sound capture, audio processing, signal management and high-performance connectivity in a range of electronic devices and systems.

Its portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers, receivers, balanced armature drivers and other acoustic components.