Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Knight-Swift Transportation shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $68.36 and ending up 13.9% higher on heavy volume.
• Analysts remain largely bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $66.71 average target.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates at $0.09 while revenue matched expectations, and it also declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $68.36 and last traded at $68.0940, with a volume of 14717748 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KNX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 13.9%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 324.27 and a beta of 1.15.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.94% and a net margin of 0.45%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 1st quarter worth about $451,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,724 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,087,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $48,110,000 after acquiring an additional 398,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 491,702 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $21,748,000 after acquiring an additional 172,956 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.