Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Knight-Swift Transportation shares gapped down, opening at $65.71 versus the prior close of $68.49, before trading around $66.09.
• Despite the decline, analysts remain broadly bullish: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $84.26, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, beating estimates of $0.51, while revenue rose 12.6% year over year to $2.10 billion. Knight-Swift also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, although insiders have sold more than $16 million of stock in the past 90 days.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $68.49, but opened at $65.71. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $66.0860, with a volume of 1,156,218 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.26.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.11. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 252.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 3.51% and a net margin of 0.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.770 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio is 307.69%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, CEO Reid Dove sold 126,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.13, for a total value of $9,277,564.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 3,600 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $254,952.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $382,782.10. The trade was a 39.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 1st quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 280.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,129 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. Its operations include truckload transportation, less-than-truckload shipping, intermodal services and logistics solutions for commercial and industrial customers.

The company operates a large fleet of tractors and trailers and offers dedicated and irregular-route truckload services, freight brokerage and supply-chain support. Its less-than-truckload business transports smaller shipments through regional and national networks, while its intermodal operations combine rail and highway transportation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.