Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.26-0.30 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.48. Knight-Swift Transportation also updated its Q1 guidance to $0.11-0.12 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KNX shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $62.75.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX traded down $2.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.55. 10,939,680 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,065. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.27. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 52 week low of $45.73 and a 52 week high of $60.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 3.93%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 48.12%.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total transaction of $112,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,836.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KNX. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 22.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 76,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,855,000 after buying an additional 13,808 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,450 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 2,677 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.8% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 211,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,126,000 after buying an additional 7,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 141,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,135,000 after acquiring an additional 8,923 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.