Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Key Points

• Analyst price-target increases: Stifel Nicolaus raised its target on KNX from $63 to $70 and maintained a "buy" rating, and multiple brokers also bumped targets (Benchmark to $75, TD Cowen to $78), leaving a MarketBeat consensus target of $65 and an overall "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Q1 earnings miss and margin pressure: Knight‑Swift reported $0.09 EPS vs. a $0.29 consensus with revenue roughly in line at $1.85B, highlighting compressed margins from a tighter truckload market and higher fuel costs.
• Stock and ownership snapshot: KNX traded around $66.81 (near its 12‑month high) with a $10.85B market cap; insiders sold shares last quarter while institutional investors hold roughly 88.8% of the stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective points to a potential upside of 4.78% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

KNX stock traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $66.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,733,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,212,487. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 162.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12 month low of $37.76 and a 12 month high of $67.75. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $58.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.38.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 2.88% and a net margin of 0.88%.The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $75,661.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $324,074.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $477,375.32. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the first quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted 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 valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $48,110,000 after purchasing an additional 398,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted 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 valued at $21,748,000 after purchasing an additional 172,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Knight-Swift Transportation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised targets and reiterated bullish ratings, underpinning upside expectations — Benchmark raised its target to $75 and kept a Buy rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird boosted its target to $70 and set an Outperform rating, signaling incremental analyst confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its target sharply to $78 and reiterated a Buy, highlighting tighter capacity, regulatory tailwinds and potential margin upside as reasons for the bullish stance. TD Cowen / TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its target to $72 but maintained a Neutral rating, suggesting upside is recognized but risks remain. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released Q1 materials, slide deck and held its earnings call — useful for assessing management commentary on volumes, pricing and fuel/route cost trends. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and MarketBeat posted Q1 coverage noting revenue roughly in line with expectations (~$1.85B) and offering metric‑level context for investors to parse. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings miss and weak profitability: KNX reported $0.09 EPS for Q1 vs. the consensus ~$0.29 (MarketBeat), a meaningful miss from prior year EPS of $0.28, showing margin pressure. MarketBeat earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Operational headwinds: The WSJ and company commentary cited a swing to a Q1 loss driven by a tightening truckload market and higher fuel costs (linked to geopolitical developments), which compresses margins near term. WSJ

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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