Zacks Research Upgrades Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) to Strong-Buy

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore raised Knight-Swift Transportation from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.53.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of KNX opened at $77.30 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.82 and its 200 day moving average is $62.39. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $38.63 and a 12-month high of $82.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 368.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.