Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KNX. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE:KNX opened at $57.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.82, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. Knight-Swift Transportation has a fifty-two week low of $45.55 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.35.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,703,061.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $28,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,754,625.90. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 87.2% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

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.