Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Updates Q1 Earnings Guidance

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.11-0.12 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.39. Knight-Swift Transportation also updated its Q1 2024 guidance to 0.190-0.200 EPS.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of KNX traded down $2.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.55. 10,939,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,065. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $45.73 and a 12-month high of $60.99. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.04%. Research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KNX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $62.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total value of $112,480.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,836.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 543.2% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 939 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.8% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 13,727.3% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services in the United States and Mexico. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Less-than-truckload (LTL), Logistics, and Intermodal. The Truckload segment provides transportation services, which include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border operations.