Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNXGet Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the December 31st total of 6,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Knight-Swift Transportation

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $28,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,754,625.90. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,703,061.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 87.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.12. The stock had a trading volume of 780,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,063. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $45.55 and a 1-year high of $61.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.88 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.82. 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:KNXGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 87.67%.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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