Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Given New $52.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price objective decreased by TD Cowen from $58.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. 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 company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.77.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE KNX opened at $47.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.99. 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 0.24, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.38). Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is currently 48.12%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total value of $112,480.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company 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 added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 908.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,181,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $241,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767,408 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,232,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,715,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $906,016,000 after buying an additional 2,137,296 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 94.1% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,841,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $85,249,000 after buying an additional 892,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 225.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 865,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,881,000 after buying an additional 599,193 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, 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.