Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX – Free Report) had its target price raised by Benchmark from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.
KNX has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.71.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on KNX
Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance
Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX – Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 0.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.12%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $75,661.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total value of $351,450.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,224.74. This represents a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,930 shares of company stock valued at $2,581,186. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 52,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Knight-Swift Transportation
Here are the key news stories impacting Knight-Swift Transportation this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised targets and set bullish ratings (UBS to $79, TD Cowen to $78, Benchmark to $75, Stifel/Baird to ~$70), boosting investor optimism about upside. Benzinga
- Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen and other analysts highlighted industry-level positives — tighter truckload capacity, regulatory tailwinds, and potential margin improvement — supporting Buy ratings. TD Cowen / TipRanks note
- Positive Sentiment: The stock printed an all-time intraday high (reported at $66.99), which can attract momentum/technical buying. Investing.com: All-time high
- Neutral Sentiment: Knight-Swift issued its Q1 press release and held a conference call/slides for investors — useful for drilling into forward commentary and guidance. BusinessWire: Q1 release
- Neutral Sentiment: Transcript and slide deck from the earnings call are available for detail on fleet utilization, pricing, and cost pressures. Seeking Alpha: Q1 call transcript
- Negative Sentiment: Q1 headline results were weak — EPS was down year-over-year and the company reported a swing to a first-quarter loss, citing a tighter truckload market and higher fuel costs; that pressure shows up in margin compression. WSJ: First-quarter loss
- Negative Sentiment: Consensus EPS comparisons are mixed across outlets (some report a miss versus consensus), leaving near-term earnings visibility weak and keeping valuation under scrutiny. MarketBeat: Q1 recap
Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile
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.
Further Reading
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