Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $47.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $53.00.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $63.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $57.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KNX opened at $46.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.22. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1 year low of $45.73 and a 1 year high of $60.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.07). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 2.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 95.52%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 value of $112,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,836.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 742 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 283 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.