Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Lowered to Hold at Loop Capital

Loop Capital downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $53.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $63.00.

KNX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.77.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX opened at $47.88 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.83 and a 200 day moving average of $54.19. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 52-week low of $45.73 and a 52-week high of $60.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.38). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.12%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 136.5% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 667 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.