Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,980,109 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $423,265,000 after purchasing an additional 506,491 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,991,354 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $370,819,000 after acquiring an additional 505,543 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 125,827 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,556,405 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $188,632,000 after purchasing an additional 63,241 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,885,438 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $100,004,000 after purchasing an additional 507,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $44.65 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $41.99 and its 200-day moving average is $49.01. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $36.69 and a one year high of $61.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.16 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.

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

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KNX shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen decreased 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. Raymond James decreased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.67.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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