Citizens Jmp Initiates Coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX)

Key Points

• Citizens JMP initiated coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation with a “market outperform” rating and a $90 price target, implying about 19.5% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment on KNX is broadly positive, with several recent upgrades and target increases; MarketBeat says the stock now has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average target price of $80.44.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.09 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $1.85 billion and rose 1.4% year over year.

Equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "market outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target on the transportation company's stock. Citizens Jmp's price target suggests a potential upside of 19.49% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $80.44.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of KNX opened at $75.32 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $73.81 and its 200-day moving average is $63.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 358.67, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. Knight-Swift Transportation has a fifty-two week low of $38.63 and a fifty-two week high of $82.86.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.20). Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.94% and a net margin of 0.45%.The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 48,900 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 2nd quarter worth $245,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 171,537 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,358,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 1st quarter valued at $287,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc NYSE: KNX is one of North America's largest asset-based truckload carriers, offering a wide range of transportation and logistics services. The company was formed in 2017 through the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, each with decades of experience in long-haul dry van and refrigerated freight. Since the merger, Knight-Swift has pursued a growth strategy that includes fleet expansions, targeted acquisitions, and investments in technology to enhance service reliability and network efficiency.

The company's core business activities include full truckload operations for dry van, temperature-controlled and flatbed shipments.

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