Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Stock Falls 4.6% – Here’s Why

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)’s share price fell 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $60.15 and last traded at $60.0940. Approximately 414,803 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 3,664,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KNX. Stephens raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Knight-Swift Transportation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $90.00 price target on Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.22.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 3.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.88. The company has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 4.71%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 86.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Reid Dove sold 126,864 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.13, for a total transaction of $9,277,564.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Vander Ploeg sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.33, for a total transaction of $115,126.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,252 shares in the company, valued at $1,583,087.16. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.4% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 4,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. VestGen Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.1% during the third quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 4,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 248.3% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 473,393 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,103,000 after acquiring an additional 337,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 10.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. The company operates one of the largest truckload fleets in the United States and serves a broad range of industries through its network of company-owned equipment, independent contractors, terminals and distribution facilities.

Its services include dry-van, refrigerated and flatbed truckload transportation; dedicated and expedited delivery; less-than-truckload shipping; freight brokerage; intermodal transportation; cross-border logistics; and warehousing and other supply-chain services.