Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $45.54 and last traded at $45.65, with a volume of 459459 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KNX. Barclays raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.41.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 62.51 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.69.

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

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 98.63%.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,185,000. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 320.7% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 1,754,822 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,727 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,839,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,355,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,435,562 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,142,000 after acquiring an additional 535,518 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.