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

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) gapped up before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KNX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $66.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.60.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Up 11.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.53. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.72 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 9,383.3% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 569 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% in the fourth 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.