Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Invests $173.67 Million in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. $KNX

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,221,397 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,669,000. Knight-Swift Transportation makes up about 2.2% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KNX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, CEO Reid Dove sold 126,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.13, for a total value of $9,277,564.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.33, for a total value of $115,126.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 224,954 shares of company stock worth $16,183,454. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KNX. Wall Street Zen raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.44.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNX opened at $69.13 on Tuesday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.63 and a fifty-two week high of $82.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.07. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 265.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.770 EPS. Analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

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

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.