Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $86.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Knight-Swift Transportation traded as high as $79.96 and last traded at $79.0150, with a volume of 1529427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.57.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 1st quarter valued at about $451,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,087,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,110,000 after purchasing an additional 398,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 491,702 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,748,000 after purchasing an additional 172,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.19 and a 200 day moving average of $58.31. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 375.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced 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). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 380.95%.

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.