Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Rating Increased to Positive at Susquehanna

Susquehanna upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $67.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $48.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KNX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.19.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE:KNX opened at $54.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.81. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $45.55 and a 1-year high of $60.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 237.05, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 1.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 278.26%.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,703,061.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total transaction of $28,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,625.90. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,242,000 after acquiring an additional 115,447 shares during the period. American Trust purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,185,000. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

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.