Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

KNX has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore raised Knight-Swift Transportation from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.53.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $77.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.82 and its 200 day moving average is $62.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 368.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.18. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1 year low of $38.63 and a 1 year high of $82.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 380.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KNX. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 448,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,446,000 after acquiring an additional 88,707 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,430,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $127,087,000 after purchasing an additional 745,787 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,676,422 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $244,250,000 after purchasing an additional 315,192 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 412.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 301,450 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,910,000 after purchasing an additional 242,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,267,687 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $326,664,000 after purchasing an additional 124,426 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc (NYSE: KNX) is one of North America’s largest asset-based truckload carriers, offering a wide range of transportation and logistics services. The company was formed in 2017 through the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, each with decades of experience in long-haul dry van and refrigerated freight. Since the merger, Knight-Swift has pursued a growth strategy that includes fleet expansions, targeted acquisitions, and investments in technology to enhance service reliability and network efficiency.

The company’s core business activities include full truckload operations for dry van, temperature-controlled and flatbed shipments.