Knowles (NYSE:KN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

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

Knowles Stock Performance

KN stock opened at $17.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.29. Knowles has a one year low of $12.78 and a one year high of $19.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.36.

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

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other news, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total transaction of $120,243.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 86,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,541,112.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Knowles news, Director Keith Barnes sold 6,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.88, for a total transaction of $120,243.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,112.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total transaction of $217,490.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,051.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,748 shares of company stock valued at $530,948 in the last 90 days. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Knowles by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 746,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,017,000 after purchasing an additional 62,332 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Knowles by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,361 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 19,181 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Knowles in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,435,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Knowles by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 486,393 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,773,000 after purchasing an additional 147,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Knowles in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,228,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).