Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a growth of 40.1% from the September 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 643,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Knowles Stock Up 1.2 %

KN stock opened at $17.87 on Tuesday. Knowles has a 12 month low of $12.78 and a 12 month high of $19.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.27.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.16). Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $204.70 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Knowles news, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $193,214.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 211,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Knowles news, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $217,490.91. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,933 shares in the company, valued at $846,051.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John S. Anderson sold 10,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $193,214.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 211,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,907,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,748 shares of company stock worth $530,948. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Knowles in the second quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Knowles by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knowles by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Knowles from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

About Knowles

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).