Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Trading 7.1% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Knight-Swift Transportation shares rose 7.1% after the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable June 22 to shareholders of record on June 8. The stock traded as high as $61.12 during the session.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with several firms recently raising price targets, including Barclays to $75 and Benchmark to $75. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a target price of $66.71.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates with $0.09 per share while revenue came in line at $1.85 billion. Despite that, analysts still forecast 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7.1% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $61.12 and last traded at $64.0050. 838,723 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,323,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.77.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Knight-Swift Transportation's payout ratio is currently 380.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 7.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 303.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $59.70 and its 200 day moving average is $55.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. Knight-Swift Transportation's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $1,830,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,305,347 shares in the company, valued at $79,626,167. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total transaction of $351,450.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,224.74. The trade was a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in 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 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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