Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Knight‑Swift a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 20 firms (15 buy, 4 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target of $62.11.
• Several brokerages have recently raised targets and upgraded ratings—most notably Barclays to $75 (overweight) and UBS to a buy with a $66 target—indicating bullish revisions from analysts.
• The company missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.31 vs. $0.36; revenue $1.86B vs. $1.90B), insiders sold about $2.58M of stock last quarter, and the firm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (1.2% yield) despite a 195% payout ratio.

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.1111.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KNX. Weiss Ratings raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $75,661.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $324,074.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,375.32. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,930 shares of company stock worth $2,581,186. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 7,100.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 936 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 111.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of KNX opened at $64.84 on Wednesday. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $37.76 and a 1-year high of $66.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.81 and a 200 day moving average of $53.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.15, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.88% and a net margin of 0.88%.Knight-Swift Transportation's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.12%.

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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