Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Knight-Swift Transportation currently carries a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 19 research firms, with 14 buy ratings and an average price target of about $66.71.
• The company’s latest quarterly results showed EPS of $0.09, missing estimates of $0.29, while revenue came in at $1.85 billion, roughly in line with expectations and up 1.4% year over year.
• Knight-Swift also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.2%; however, the payout ratio is high at 380.95%.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.7059.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $1,830,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,305,347 shares in the company, valued at $79,626,167. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total transaction of $351,450.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,224.74. The trade was a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KNX. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the first quarter worth about $451,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,724 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 57.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,087,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $48,110,000 after purchasing an additional 398,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 54.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 491,702 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $21,748,000 after purchasing an additional 172,956 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE:KNX opened at $69.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 328.83 and a beta of 1.15. Knight-Swift Transportation has a fifty-two week low of $38.63 and a fifty-two week high of $69.35.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. Knight-Swift Transportation's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio is 380.95%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.