Prudential Financial Inc. Has $1.35 Million Stock Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,227 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth about $3,021,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 30.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% in 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,242,000 after purchasing an additional 115,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 199.2% during the fourth quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 29,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 19,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.24.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KNX opened at $39.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.44 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.84 and its 200 day moving average is $52.79. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.69 and a 12-month high of $61.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.63%.

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.