Starboard Demands 22% EBITDA Margin by 2029 or Sale of Knife River
KNF is trading near its 52-week low of $50.665 (5.9% above the low) on elevated volume (2.5× avg).
Summary
Starboard Value has publicly laid out its demands for Knife River: achieve adjusted EBITDA margins of at least 22% by fiscal 2029, or the board should evaluate a sale. The activist investor, which disclosed a significant stake on Wednesday, called current shareholder returns 'unacceptable' and pointed to the company's 1.3 billion tons of aggregate reserves as underutilized assets. Knife River shares rose 4.3% in premarket trading Thursday, recovering part of Wednesday's 7.9% drop. This follows the initial WSJ report of Starboard's stake, adding specific financial targets and an explicit strategic alternative ultimatum. The company's Q2 results showed revenue of $938.6M but missed EBITDA expectations, and the stock is down 27% year-to-date. Watch for Knife River's response and any board-level engagement with Starboard's proposals.
At the time of this announcement, KNF was trading at $53.66 on NYSE in the Real Estate & Construction sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.9B. The 52-week trading range was $50.67 to $96.28. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.