Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX)

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 20,843 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,733% compared to the typical volume of 1,137 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KNX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Stephens upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $76.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.26.

Insider Activity

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $254,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,782.10. The trade was a 39.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Vander Ploeg sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.33, for a total value of $115,126.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,583,087.16. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,551,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth $66,151,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.1% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 291,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,807,000 after buying an additional 8,653 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 523,801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,160,000 after buying an additional 138,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,790,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 3.8%

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $65.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 253.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Knight-Swift Transportation has a twelve month low of $38.63 and a twelve month high of $82.86.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.12. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.56% and a return on equity of 3.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.770 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 307.69%.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. Its operations include truckload transportation, less-than-truckload shipping, intermodal services and logistics solutions for commercial and industrial customers.

The company operates a large fleet of tractors and trailers and offers dedicated and irregular-route truckload services, freight brokerage and supply-chain support. Its less-than-truckload business transports smaller shipments through regional and national networks, while its intermodal operations combine rail and highway transportation.