Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $82.46 and last traded at $82.44, with a volume of 3620812 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KNX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.19.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 4.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.38. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 392.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.20). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. 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 will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 380.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.