Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.38.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KNX. TD Cowen raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 87.2% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX opened at $50.21 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.07. Knight-Swift Transportation has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $61.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.77 and a beta of 0.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio 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.