Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $42.45, but opened at $47.66. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $47.26, with a volume of 1,404,234 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KNX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $44.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.31.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. Knight-Swift Transportation's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Knight-Swift Transportation's payout ratio is 76.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $3,021,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,175,335 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,340,000 after purchasing an additional 28,387 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 199.2% during the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 29,625 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 19,725 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth about $749,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,433 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.