Knife River (NYSE:KNF) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 26th, 2026

Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF – Get Free Report)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $51.43, but opened at $53.23. Knife River shares last traded at $53.7820, with a volume of 166,967 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KNF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Knife River from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Knife River from $73.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knife River in a report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Knife River from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on Knife River from $105.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.29.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on KNF

Knife River Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.36). Knife River had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $938.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Knife River Corporation will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knife River

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,166,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Knife River in the 4th quarter valued at $32,753,000. Voss Capital LP raised its stake in Knife River by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 710,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,952,000 after purchasing an additional 270,048 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in Knife River in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,242,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Knife River by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,464,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,579,000 after purchasing an additional 73,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.11% of the company’s stock.

About Knife River

(Get Free Report)

Knife River Corporation is a construction materials and contracting company that produces and supplies essential materials for public and private infrastructure projects. Its principal products include construction aggregates, ready-mix concrete and asphalt, along with related paving and contracting services.

The company operates an integrated network of quarries, sand and gravel sites, asphalt and concrete plants, and construction operations. Its services support highways, bridges, airports, commercial developments, residential projects and other infrastructure improvements.