The Goldman Sachs Group Upgrades Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) to "Buy"

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $65.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $45.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.67.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

KNX traded down $0.19 on Monday, hitting $44.49. 498,311 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,327,598. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.27. Knight-Swift Transportation has a twelve month low of $36.69 and a twelve month high of $61.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 60.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. 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 firm earned $0.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.60%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 9,383.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 569 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 93.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 642 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 40.0% in the first 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. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,336 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.