Knight-Swift Transportation Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KNX)

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 20,016 call options on the company. This is an increase of 994% compared to the typical volume of 1,829 call options.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 20,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 7,666 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter worth approximately $879,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 80,992 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after buying an additional 24,356 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KNX has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.24.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $39.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $36.69 and a 12-month high of $61.51. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.44 and a beta of 0.97.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.63%.

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.