Strs Ohio Acquires 88,707 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. $KNX

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in Knight‑Swift by 24.7%, purchasing 88,707 shares to own 448,471 shares (about 0.28% of the company) valued at roughly $23.45 million at quarter end.
• Insiders have been net sellers: Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares at about $61 and CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares, with insiders disposing of 42,930 shares worth $2.58 million over the past 90 days (insiders now own 2.9%).
• Operational and market signal: Knight‑Swift missed quarterly EPS ($0.09 vs. $0.29 expected) on $1.85B revenue, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (1.2% yield), and trades with a $10.4B market cap and an analyst consensus of "Moderate Buy" (average target ~$66.71).

Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448,471 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,707 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.28% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $23,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,936 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 130,638 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 53,183 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 24,382 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,136 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $1,830,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,305,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,626,167. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total value of $351,450.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,224.74. The trade was a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 42,930 shares of company stock valued at $2,581,186 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $64.06 on Friday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.63 and a 52 week high of $67.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 305.08, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.15.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Knight-Swift Transportation's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 380.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KNX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.71.

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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