Knowles (NYSE:KN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knowles (NYSE:KN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna increased 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. Craig Hallum raised shares of Knowles to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Knowles Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Knowles stock opened at $17.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.60 and a 200 day moving average of $17.31. Knowles has a fifty-two week low of $12.78 and a fifty-two week high of $19.73.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $204.70 million during the quarter. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 24.36%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Knowles by 114.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Knowles by 37.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).