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

Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.87 and last traded at $19.80, with a volume of 56244 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Knowles Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.04 and a 200 day moving average of $17.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. Knowles had a negative net margin of 27.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.16%. The firm had revenue of $142.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 21,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.56, for a total value of $370,164.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 66,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,160,066.28. This trade represents a 24.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $73,208.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 61,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,312.26. The trade was a 5.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 201,845 shares of company stock valued at $3,774,234. 2.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Knowles by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 87,679 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Knowles by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Knowles by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 83.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,997 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,262,000 after acquiring an additional 85,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Knowles by 2.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).