Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Stock

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $53.00 to $54.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the transportation company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.06.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNX traded down $1.17 on Wednesday, reaching $47.05. 461,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,187. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $36.69 and a 1-year high of $61.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.40 and a 200-day moving average of $47.24.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 2.79%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 9,383.3% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 569 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 93.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 642 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,133 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,701 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company's stock.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.