Knowles (NYSE:KN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Knowles Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of KN opened at $18.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 1.42. Knowles has a 12 month low of $12.78 and a 12 month high of $19.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $142.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at Knowles

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knowles

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in Knowles by 20.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,489 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 22,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Knowles by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,914 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. 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).