Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $42.45, but opened at $47.66. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $47.26, with a volume of 1,404,234 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $44.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.60.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.33 and its 200 day moving average is $50.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 76.60%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,850. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 73.4% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 140,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,062,000 after buying an additional 59,451 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the first quarter worth approximately $2,986,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 1st quarter worth $4,087,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 93.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 642 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 17,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 6,592 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company 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.