Nuance Investments LLC Purchases 188,813 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,117,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 188,813 shares during the period. Knight-Swift Transportation accounts for about 2.4% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 0.69% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $59,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KNX. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,980,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $423,265,000 after purchasing an additional 506,491 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,201,276 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $221,541,000 after buying an additional 125,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,740,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,529,000 after buying an additional 46,436 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,412,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,224,000 after acquiring an additional 359,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter worth $70,185,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

NYSE KNX opened at $44.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.29. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.72 and a 1 year high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.41.

Knight-Swift Transportation 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.