Knowles (NYSE:KN) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Knowles (NYSE:KN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Knowles Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KN opened at $14.47 on Wednesday. Knowles has a 52-week low of $12.19 and a 52-week high of $20.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.46 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.95.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $142.50 million during the quarter. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.52% and a negative net margin of 34.66%.

Institutional Trading of Knowles

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $16,297,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Knowles by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 275,317 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,487,000 after buying an additional 5,019 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Knowles by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,401 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after acquiring an additional 112,354 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Knowles by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,475,339 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $169,135,000 after acquiring an additional 265,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 428,615 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

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).