Appian Way Asset Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 396,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,806,000. Knight-Swift Transportation accounts for approximately 5.1% of Appian Way Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Appian Way Asset Management LP owned 0.25% of Knight-Swift Transportation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,290,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 118,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,033 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 161,243 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth about $584,000. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut Knight-Swift Transportation from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.14.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $2,318,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,422,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,294,210.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total transaction of $1,509,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,467,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,852,228.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total transaction of $2,318,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,422,360 shares in the company, valued at $73,294,210.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,196 shares of company stock worth $4,367,869. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE KNX opened at $52.57 on Tuesday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $60.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 78.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.93.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 0.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.52%.

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.