Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,187 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,256,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 236,184 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,201,276 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $221,541,000 after purchasing an additional 125,827 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 149.3% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 13,385 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,188,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,628. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.22 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.86. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.69 and a 52-week high of $61.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. Knight-Swift Transportation's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KNX shares. TD Securities reduced their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.67.

Knight-Swift Transportation 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.