Inspire Investing LLC Acquires 28,391 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. $KNX

Key Points

• Inspire Investing increased its Knight-Swift Transportation stake by 158.5% in the third quarter, buying 28,391 additional shares for a total position of 46,299 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million.
• Knight-Swift reported strong third-quarter results, with adjusted EPS of $0.83 and revenue of $2.20 billion exceeding analyst expectations; EPS more than doubled year over year.
• Despite expectations for improving truckload margins and predominantly positive analyst ratings, shares opened at $61.23, down 2.1%, while fourth-quarter EPS guidance was slightly below consensus and insiders have recently sold shares.

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) by 158.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,299 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,391 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $2,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,458,088 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $486,995,000 after purchasing an additional 60,750 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $173,669,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 842,644 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $48,519,000 after buying an additional 166,919 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 595,649 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,297,000 after buying an additional 166,668 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 523,801 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $30,160,000 after buying an additional 138,949 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, CAO Cary Flanagan sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $254,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $382,782.10. This represents a 39.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Vander Ploeg sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.33, for a total value of $115,126.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,583,087.16. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Knight-Swift Transportation

Here are the key news stories impacting Knight-Swift Transportation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KNX reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.83, above the approximately $0.75–$0.76 analyst consensus, while revenue of $2.20 billion also exceeded expectations. EPS more than doubled from $0.32 a year earlier, supported by improving truckload pricing and early margin recovery. Knight-Swift Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects truckload operating income to improve meaningfully in the fourth quarter, and commentary pointed to tighter capacity and better pricing as potential catalysts for further earnings recovery. First look at Knight-Swift’s Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see substantial upside: Stifel raised its price target to $92 with a buy rating, while Wells Fargo maintained an overweight rating despite lowering its target to $79. A valuation analysis also suggested KNX may be significantly undervalued if the earnings recovery continues. Knight-Swift may be undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its target from $68 to $74 but kept a neutral rating, indicating that analysts recognize the recovery potential while remaining cautious about execution and industry conditions. JPMorgan analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.78–$0.84 has a midpoint of $0.81, slightly below the $0.82 consensus estimate. The guidance may be weighing on the stock because it suggests that the recovery will be gradual rather than immediate. Knight-Swift Q4 guidance

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KNX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $81.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.78.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:KNX opened at $61.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.24 and a 52-week high of $82.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.57. The company has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 4.71% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Knight-Swift Transportation's payout ratio is 86.02%.

Knight-Swift Transportation Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. The company operates one of the largest truckload fleets in the United States and serves a broad range of industries through its network of company-owned equipment, independent contractors, terminals and distribution facilities.

Its services include dry-van, refrigerated and flatbed truckload transportation; dedicated and expedited delivery; less-than-truckload shipping; freight brokerage; intermodal transportation; cross-border logistics; and warehousing and other supply-chain services.

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