Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Knight‑Swift hit a new 52‑week high of $66.61 (last $64.84) on heavy volume, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $62.11 amid several recent upgrades and price‑target increases.
• The company missed quarterly EPS ($0.31 vs. $0.36 expected) and showed weak profitability (net margin 0.88%, ROE 2.88%), while the stock trades at a high P/E of 158.15, suggesting valuation is elevated relative to current earnings.
• Knight‑Swift raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, 1.2% yield) but the payout ratio is an unsustainably high 195%; insiders have been net sellers recently even as large institutions materially increased stakes.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $66.61 and last traded at $64.84, with a volume of 2658179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Evercore upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.11.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.15, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.81 and a 200-day moving average of $53.30.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). The business 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $324,074.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $477,375.32. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $1,830,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,930 shares of company stock valued at $2,581,186. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,918,523 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $675,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468,293 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 513.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,416,865 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $126,354,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022,996 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,070,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 269.7% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,231,439 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $88,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 252.4% during the third quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 2,262,145 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $89,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,224 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is 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.

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