Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Sets New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $61.51 and last traded at $57.29, with a volume of 1188916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.00.

The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is 87.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KNX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.38.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,703,061.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $28,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,754,625.90. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,185,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 309.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,068,323 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,331,000 after buying an additional 807,572 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the second quarter worth approximately $30,251,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,775,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,075,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $219,870,000 after acquiring an additional 467,647 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.38, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.