State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 6,999 Shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,999 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.07% of Knife River worth $2,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Knife River during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knife River during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 80.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Knife River from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on Knife River in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on Knife River in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Knife River in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.20.

Knife River Stock Performance

KNF stock opened at $79.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Knife River Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.67 and a fifty-two week high of $83.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.04 and a 200-day moving average of $66.70.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $646.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.47 million. Knife River had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 6.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Knife River Co. will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knife River Company Profile

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete.